Gone to Ground
by graygirl
Summary: If Max didn't pick up her phone to answer his call, Alec would be screwed. Sitting bleeding in a darn phone booth, he knew his life depended on her more than ever before. He hoped she was ready to save him one more time - to save them all...
1. A phone call

_This is a start I guess..._

* * *

Gone to ground – that's what Alec had done all those months ago: he had gone to ground. Once Mole had suggested it – no, had demanded it – they had all done just that. Given the option, not one of them had remained behind with Max. Not one of them had stayed in Seattle, in that nuclear wasteland known as Terminal City, the only friggin' place in which they had been allowed to stay, in which they had been relatively safe.

Staying had not really been an option; Terminal City had not been a home at all.

Max; he thought of her every once in a while, wondered whether she was doing alright, whether Logan was still with her. He asked himself how the others were faring, Joshua, Mole, Dix, Gem, OC, Sketch. Heck, he even thought of good old Normal sometimes.

But he had left all that behind a long time ago. If Max could see him right now, she'd probably kick his ass and tell him that he had screwed up big time. He'd have laughed, or at least chuckled to himself a little if his face hadn't been so battered.

Here he was, half standing, half sitting in a phone booth, trying to avoid shards of glass from the bashed-in windows that were littering the ground beneath him, blinding him whenever he tried to focus his wandering stare on them. With one hand he was still trying to staunch the flow of blood that was running freely from that grisly wound which was now thankfully hidden beneath the soaked-through clammy fabric of his shirt. But with his other, free hand he was already grabbing for the receiver.

Oh yes, he was screwed. He was _so_ screwed.

He fought to stifle a cry of pain, making it a clipped sound escaping his cracked lips when he bent forward a little to punch in the only number he could think of dialing at a moment like this. He was only half aware of the tears running down his burning cheeks, but he wouldn't have cared anyways. He felt too desperate, too scared. Too alone. And there didn't seem to be any other option than this call, even though he really didn't want to make it.

He didn't.

But she was his only chance. She had always been his only chance, the one to save him…

Maybe her world needed some outward influence right now, something to alter its course. Something that would unhinge her world, or at least her plans for the night… Alec hoped so, because if not—if she just hung up on him (and could he blame her?) he'd be even more screwed than he already was.

He'd be dead in no time. Like a thread in the story of her life that had lain neglected for too long and finally been dropped…

It was odd how he heard the tinny _beep_ _beep_ of the line echoing in his cloudy mind and at the same time couldn't, for the life of him, seem to hear his own ragged breathing. Maybe that was because all his senses seemed to focus in on nothing but the tiny world he was holding in his hand then, a world he might just be about to catapult himself back into. If only he could fight the creeping unconsciousness long enough to actually say something.

Speak to her…

"_Josh, I _told_ you I'm already on my way. _With_ Chinese Take Out, just like you wanted. And a movie—_two_ movies actually, I even brought the one you suggested, __Fluke__ or something, was it? Come on, big guy, I'm making an effort here, okay?"_

"Max?" A whisper. A damn whisper was all he managed to get out. Inwardly, he cursed himself; only inwardly, non-verbally, because even that simple whispered name seemed to have drained half his remaining strength from his tired body.

Maxie… It was so good to hear her voice. And what she said… so her, so Max. It was only now that he finally heard her speak again that he realized how achingly he'd actually missed her. He had to try again. And with yet a little more effort he managed to croak out her name in a somewhat more audible fashion.

"_Patience is key, Big Guy. I shouldn't be more than five minutes now, alright? And yes, I do know I'm late; but you won't hear me apologize for what seems to be the gazillionth time already, alright? I'm coming. And your calling me every other minute won't speed up the process. At all. Josh…"_

And suddenly he could hear her think.

Thank goodness.

"—_Joshua?..." _He could practically see the frown crossing the otherwise smooth skin of her forehead, could see her pout in annoyance. _"Okay, who is this? Logan, if that's you: not funny. And if it's some weird sicko calling me: you can keep your heavy breathing to yourself because I'm going to hang up now, asshole."_

"No!" Alec suddenly blurted out, the short word straining him enough to make his lungs feel like they were on fire, causing his breath to come out in a choked and painful cough. He felt his vision swim and blur, then nearly fade, and it was only the hand clinging to the darn receiver which kept him grounded, helped him hang on to consciousness.

Don't make her hang up, he prayed. Don't make her hang up on me before…

And suddenly he heard the dawning of understanding in her voice as she quietly whispered in an only half believing tone of voice, _"Alec?"_

* * *

_More?  
_


	2. 2

_Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers of the previous chapter! Ready for the new chapter, everyone? We have a hot transgenic to save..._

* * *

It took just that one word, his name, coming from her lips, to make a tiny smile erupt on his face; and for once he didn't care that it made his split lip hurt, or that he really didn't have a reason to smile. Because now he _had_: Max had heard him…

* * *

Max had been juggling a whole load of things for a successful "cheering up a moody Joshua-movie night." But now she had to fight hard not to drop the precious boxes of food: a phone call from Alec of all people, out of nowhere. She hadn't been prepared for that at all; just like she hadn't been prepared to hear the fear she had discerned in his voice.

So much for hurrying to get home to Josh…

"_Max…"_

The clipped tone jolted her back to reality instantly.

"Alec, hey… I…" She couldn't possibly ask him to call her back another time, now could she? Not after not having heard from him in what felt like ages…

"_I'm sorry, you're probably—Max, I didn't know who to call. I…"_

Okay, this actually scared her just a little: he didn't sound at all like laid-back, self-confident Alec, like himself—or what she had come to associate with him sounding like himself, anyway.

"Alec, are you okay?"

"_I swear I tried Joshua first, I didn't want to… bother you. But he's not home, and if he's at Logan's… He never really did approve of me, did he?"_

Max heard him chuckle lightly, before a cough put a sudden end to it. She was clutching her cell in an iron grip by then, pressing it to her ear so hard that it hurt. But his voice was not much more than a whisper, yet so insistent, and something about that worried her strangely.

"Alec, what's going on? What is it?"

"_Guy really needs a cell phone… I mean, even _you_ eventually got one, right?"_

No, he really didn't sound okay.

"Alec, focus! What is it that you're calling me about? Just spill it out. Are you alright? Did something happen, did—," she was trying hard to come up with a scenario that might explain him calling her, out of nowhere, sounding… broken. Hurt.

"Are you hurt, Alec? Did something happen?"

An odd sound could be heard, a sound that might have been intended to come out as yet another chuckle. But to her it translated into a raspy, labored breath. Still, it was the following silence that actually scared her more. Something was definitely off about this call, and it was not the fact that they hadn't heard from each other for a long time.

So much for her plans for the night. She would have to call the Big Fella, give him a rain check, deal with him sulking for the next couple days. She would make it up to him later. (She hoped she could. It was still Joshua she was doing this to, who had been one of the very few who had stuck around with her, through everything.) Right now, though, Alec calling her seemed to be the more pressing issue. She simply had to make sure he'd be okay first. If only he would just tell her what was wrong.

When the silence was starting to stretch on for too long, Max went for another strategy, which was actually Logan's way with clamped-up people: cajoling them into talking by rambling.

"Okay, Alec," she started, taking the remaining few steps to where she had parked her motorcycle. She placed the Chinese food as well as the movies on the seat and searched her pockets for her keys. "What's wrong? You wouldn't be calling me like that if nothing serious had happened. I know you. You're not that kind of guy, you always keep things to yourself, playing the tragic hero who everyone can plainly see has issues and yet, who is too proud to talk about them. But, see, now that you actually did call me, you could just as well simply tell me why. Don't you think? I'm pretty sure you didn't choose this exact time for some small talk—you're not a small talk kind of guy, anyway, Alec. Don't think I don't remem—"

"_Shut… shut up, Maxie, please…"_

Wait, did he just tell her to…shut up? Good that he didn't see her pout, or he would have started smiling in that way of his...

"Well, I didn't ask you to call, so…"

_"I'm sorry, it's just… I don't have much time, okay? I'd… I'd love to chat, but… I'm running out of… quarters. I need you to help me, please…"_

And that did shut her up pretty effectively. So effectively in fact that her sudden silence apparently worried him so much that he whispered her name a couple of times.

"I'm—still here. So, um, what do you need my help for, then? Anything Manticore-related? Or is this just about you having gotten yourself in trouble coz you never know when to keep your mouth shut? Because if that's the reason you're calling…"

"_It's all of the above, maybe?"_ His clipped laugh made her cringe, because it was so obvious that it was supposed to mask true desperation. But Alec sounding desperate—it couldn't mean anything good and it scared her.

"Okay. Tell me where you are," she therefore said, having made a decision. She wouldn't let him off the hook easily, not without having seen him first, having made sure he was actually alright. She knew what she was doing was stupid. Why was she reading his behavior like a sign for him being in some kind of emergency situation? Why didn't she just wait and let him explain what the hell was the matter with him, why he sounded so beat, why he was calling her of all people, and not some other friend. But then, the matter seemed to be serious enough for him to have tried to reach Joshua first. That in itself was probably more telling than anything else.

"Last I heard from Josh you were somewhere in Portland; are you still there? I could be there in about—" She was checking her watch for the time, just as she heard Alec mutter,

"_Yeah, but…it's not… I"_

"Just give me the address, alright?"

"_M… don't know… unless an… anonymous phone booth counts as an…address…"_

"A what? Why the hell are you calling me from a phone booth, Alec? Okay, where is it—"

"_Stupid, huh? After I have griped about you not having a damn cell, just your stupid pager, for the longest time?"_

Max could half see the smile crossing his features, and for one short moment her own face relaxed into a fond and less worried expression. Oh, she had missed talking to him.

She had missed _him_.

"Alec, the address…"

"_Crap, I don't have any quarters left…"_

"Okay… can you give me the number of the phone you're calling from?—Alec?"

She started her bike's engine, ready to ride it to wherever he was. Her phone sandwiched between her shoulder and her ear, she was listening to Alec's ragged breathing when he finally gave her a number. She memorized it instantly, thanking her transgenic brain for that capability, when the line went dead not a second after Alec had given her the last digit.

Her heart was pounding like mad, her hands shaking, her thoughts on overdrive. Something told her this was serious; Alec asking for help, from a phone booth… She had to get to him as soon as possible. Before someone else did, someone who wouldn't be as sympathetic when coming upon a fallen engineered soldier.

"_Hey Max…"_

She had waited for him to answer her call before accelerating on the Ninja, but now that she heard his voice, tired and too quiet for her liking, she forced the bike into acceleration, and headed into the general direction of Portland.

"Now try and tell me where you're at, okay? Just give me the address and I'll pick you up."

She heard his too weak chuckle again, the raspy quality of his breathing getting ever more severe.

"_Does it sound stupid if I say I don't know?... Geez, I don't even know where the hell I am, quite the super-soldier material I am, huh? Really shouldn't have called. Sorry to burden you with this, Max. I'm sorry, I should have—"_

"Alec" She put as much calmness and strength into that one word as she could muster, forcing him to listen. She had to admit that she was worried about him. He was definitely not himself, of that much she was sure. What made him behave so weirdly she had no idea. Drugs maybe. Maybe he had taken something… What if he had developed a serious habit? Could X5s even develop a habit?

She needed to focus; at least one of them needed to try and do that, remain calm, make sensible decisions. She wasn't X5 for nothing, she could do it; she could stay calm.

"Alec… listen to me: tell me what you see from where you are, alright? Any street signs, any prominent buildings you recognize? Anything?"

"_I'm so tired… I shouldn't have called, Max. It's just, I didn't really know what else to do, I… Still good to hear your voice…"_

What else to do? Good to hear her voice? He sounded delirious…

"Listen, Alec, we don't have much time: can you walk?"

"_Nnnah, don't think I can, Maxie… lost quite a bit of blood, I think"_

"You what? You're bleeding? Shit, what have you gotten yourself into again, you big moron? — Are there any," she searched for a word, "trustworthy people around you could ask for help? Someone?"

"_No. No people…" _He suddenly sounded scared, panicked even. The vehemence behind his denial made her tighten her grip on the handlebars in yet another wave of worry. X5s just didn't trust anyone other than their own. What had she been thinking, "trustworthy people." She huffed at herself in annoyance.

"Okay. Alright, Alec. We'll figure something out. I'll figure out how to get to you, okay? Just… hang in there. Don't you give up on me, you hear?"

"_I never did, Max…"_

And despite the dire situation, despite her riding aimlessly toward Portland, without having called Josh to cancel their movie-night, to tell him not to worry, with no clue as to the exact whereabouts of one Alec X5-494, who might be bleeding to death for all she knew, despite all that, she couldn't help but smile at hearing those gently spoken words.

"Then don't you dare do it now… I'm on my way." Sighing, she closed her eyes for one short second, channeling all her strength to do what had to be done. "Listen, Alec, I'll have to end this call now, okay? But I'm going to call you back in an instant, okay? Promise me you'll pick up the phone, Alec…"

"_Huh?"_

"Promise me…"

"_Okay…"_

She waited for the sound of one more quiet breath coming from him, then disconnected the call.


	3. 3

_Thank you guys for the feedback!_

* * *

Joshua was furious by the time Max called.

"_Li'l fella! Where are you?"_ he shouted at her once the line connected. When Max failed to answer, though, the big transgenic immediately started a rant that didn't even seem to leave room for a single inhalation. Max briefly closed her eyes, tuning out whichever accusations were thrown her way.

Max's grip on her bike momentarily tightened even more as she forced herself to refocus back on the street in front of her. She had finally reached the city limits a few minutes ago, but that also meant she had to pay a little more attention to the actual act of driving, which wasn't exactly helpful. Not when she was already having severe difficulties trying not to freak out over the fact that Alec might be bleeding to death in some godforsaken phone booth at that very moment.

"Josh, please," she eventually interjected, her voice firmer than she could have hoped for.

But apparently the big guy was not yet ready to let it go. _"When you didn't call, M-max, Joshua climbed the walls! Had Logan come over from his place because I was freaking out so much! Li'l fella never just doesn't show up… You didn't call again; Joshua couldn't get through to you; the line was always - always busy. Beep beep. No li'l fella. Where ARE you? Is li'l fella alright? Max, Max could have been dead for all Joshua knew! "_

"JOSH, STOP! I'm—let me say something. I—someone called, okay? Alec called me—"

"_Alec called Max? But—"_

"Please, big guy, this is urgent, it's pretty serious. I wouldn't have called you so late if it weren't. He called me from a phone booth." She went on, her voice, to her annoyance, starting to waver. "He said he was hurt, bleeding. He's… something happened to him, Josh. He doesn't even know where he is, just that it's somewhere in Portland. I'm already on my way there, but…"

She didn't want to worry her friend, but she just couldn't help it. It wasn't exactly like she had a lot of people she could count on, especially after the TC exodus that had had her see many of her fellow transgenics leave, among them Alec.

* * *

It all had happened quite suddenly, some eight months ago.

Max vividly remembered the time right after the raising of the flag, when they had come to realize way too soon that things just weren't working out the way they had planned. Even though the siege of TC had eventually ended and they all had tried so hard to establish some form of TC government, it had been tough, not in the least because after having experienced freedom for the first time, most former Manticoreans had refused to follow anyone's orders anymore.

She had understood that and had tried to establish a system that allowed for them all to take part in the governing process. But people had remained sceptical. At first, Alec had been there to help. He had been right by her side through most of the first hard weeks. When the others saw that even he was willing to follow orders to make things work, some of them had acquiesced and had followed his example.

They had tried. At first it had even seemed like it was working. But then the first tough winter had come and gone. Being cooped up in TC, they hadn't even been able to grow their own produce to help out with the food shortage. And the ordinaries in Seattle hadn't been very forthcoming with help of any form. Rather, the opposite...

More and more TC inhabitants had started to feel like they were effectively imprisoning themselves. It had been Mole who was one of the first to voice his concerns with the whole TC concept - and he had questioned Max's decision again, when the first transgenics had been discovered to show signs of starvation.

"Don't be stupid, Max," he had said one day, when they had all met up to discuss the problems of food supplies and the growing number of transgenics that decided to leave TC. "This is not a home for us. The people out there won't ever accept us, not even when we stay among ourselves. And you know what? I'm tired of hiding in plain sight. I say we leave this place behind and go to ground. We should do it now, before it's too late. We don't have a future here."

She had stared at him. She had wanted to argue. But then she had seen the look on the faces of the others. More importantly, she had seen the look on the face of Alec.

Their gazes had locked. It had seemed like a long time before Alec had finally said, "He's right, Max. I'm sorry, but he's right. Look at us. This is not what you wanted. This is not what _we_ wanted." The expression on his face had been so gentle, so affectionate that it had startled her. He hadn't once reverted back to any form of cockiness.

"We can't stay, Maxie. We're an easy target if we keep ourselves cooped up like this. We're Manticore. We can survive under the most dire circumstances, but we don't _have_ to make it harder on ourselves, don't you see that? I know this was your dream, and I'm sorry, but maybe this was just the wrong way. I think we'll be better off not in plain sight of the ordinaries…"

"But we can make it work, Alec!" she had tried, though by that time her own doubts had already started to darken her hopes for TC. "We just need time. Logan has already worked on a pretty good defense system with Dix and about the food problem-"

He had merely looked at her and she had known he wouldn't stay, no matter what she said.

She couldn't make them all stay. She didn't want to make them stay. She wanted them to want this as much as she did. But they didn't. She didn't wanna admit it to herself at first, and it would take a long time till she finally did. But when that day eventually came, Alec had long been gone.

He had left. Not right away, but he had distanced himself more and more from the cause, and eventually from her. Until one day he had been gone without so much as a goodbye. She remembered the last time she had seen him: it had been close to dusk and she had been on an errand out of town. She was just getting back, past the perimeter fence, when she had seen his silhouette. She had known it was him, instantly, and she had called out his name. The figure had stopped, had turned around, and waved at her; such a sad, forlorn gesture.

The next moment, he had been gone. And she had known he wouldn't return. She realized that he had tried to say goodbye to her in his own way the day before, when out of the blue he had pulled her in for a hug, kissed her on the top of her head and said: "Don't ever change, Maxie. No matter what."

And what had she done? She had wiggled her way out of his embrace and playfully slapped him, saying: "Sheesh, Alec, cheesy much?" She rolled her eyes at the memory.

Later, Max hadn't allowed herself to be upset about his leaving, she had swallowed down her anger, she had tried to ignore the stab of betrayal she had felt. She had done it to be strong for the others, for TC.

And what had it helped? Nothing, nothing at all. After Alec was gone, even more of the transgenics felt like it was time to leave, and Max couldn't persuade them to stay. Except for Joshua - but he was like a kid.

And except for Logan - but he wasn't even Manticore. And she couldn't even hug him for comfort, because she was still a mortal danger to him...

If only Alec had stayed...

But who was she kidding? Alec had always been an opportunist, rather than a leader; a smartass, a handsome devil who liked to play; a soldier who had never learned to follow.

He had been her friend, and he had left her.

Just like that...

* * *

Max shook her head, jolting herself out of her thoughts. Had it really been eight months since she had last seen Alec? Eight months was a long time. And now he was back in her life…

She heard Joshua talk to her over the phone. _"Max talked to Alec? Alec okay? Alec in a phone - a phone booth? Alec lost?"_

"How am I to find one specific phone booth in the middle of freakin' Portland, Josh. Can-can you put Logan on the line? You said he was with you, right?"

"_Max hold on. Joshua will go and get Logan. Max will find Alec. Don't… don't worry, li'l fella, you will find him."_

A small smile that he couldn't see was her only reply. He always managed to make her feel a little better.

_"Max! It's Logan. What's going on? Joshua said something about Alec calling you from a - uh - phone booth, and that you don't know where it is located? That right?"_

He sounded doubtful, understandably so. But once he confirmed what Joshua had already relayed to him, he instantly switched into his best Eyes Only investigative mode. _"Do you by any chance have the number of the phone he used?"_

"The number, yeah, sure I… he was running out of quarters so I had him give it to me." She gave it to him. Without further questioning what he was up to, she trusted him to take care of the situation. She trusted Logan. More than she could trust herself under the circumstances.

"_Alright, I'm going to call the phone company now,"_ she heard him announce. Intently, she listened to each and every word that followed. _"I'm sure they'll be able to locate the exact position of the phone booth once they are given the number. You stay where you are, Max, you hear? Go, park the Ninja somewhere and wait; you won't be helping Alec by riding around aimlessly, okay? So just stay where you are until I call you back. —Are the batteries to your cell phone still charged alright?"_

"They were nearly full when Alec first called, so… yeah, I guess."

"_Good, because I want you to call Alec now and check whether he's still picking up. If he's not: immediately call my cell—I'm gonna use Josh's landline and hand him the cell. If Alec is picking up, talk to him for a few minutes. Tell him you'll call him back after you heard from me. Tell him help is on the way. Don't talk for too long, though, because I want to be able to get through to you once I got the address."_

Max caught herself nodding wordlessly and had to shake herself out of a strange stupor before she finally managed a verbalized response. "Yeah," she made, the word nothing more than a whisper, which was apparently drowned out by the sounds of traffic for Logan suddenly blurted out a somewhat frantic sounding _"Max? You still there?"_

"Yes, I'm here. I'll call Alec now… And, Logan?"

"_Max?"_

"Thank you."

"_Anytime."_

Max swallowed back a curious lump in her throat once the call was disconnected. Unbidden thoughts of Logan had started jolting through her head only to be interspersed with vivid scenes in which she pictured herself finding Alec, her once-upon-a-time-pain-in-the-ass-constant-companion, lying dead and cold in his own blood.

She had managed to steer her machine into the parking lot of some ramshackle abandoned looking restaurant and was glad not to have to watch the traffic, if only for a while. Thus she could put all her focus on the one thing that counted: getting Alec to answer the phone.

She dialed the number with numb fingers, a number she'd forever know by heart.

The number that could save Alec's life…


	4. 4

_Thanks for the review, "I." I actually changed the last chapter a little after what you said. Also, you're putting your finger on the right spot with that observation...  
_

* * *

The darkness around Alec was like a creeping fear dulling his senses, yet it made him hyper-alert to the coldness seeping through his clothes and into his flesh. There was nothing romantic about it, nothing romantic about waiting for Max to come for him.

But she was coming. She was really coming to get him out of this mess he'd landed himself in. Even though he had abandoned her.

On hearing her voice after all these months, guilt had finally come with a pang. He had abandoned her, there was no way to sugar coat it. He had left her alone in the mess that was TC. He hadn't even tried to explain...

And yet she was coming for him.

Right now, she was still forcing him to talk to her, but even that proved to be too much for him. His tongue, heavy as lead—or whatever the appropriate saying was, refused to form the words. His mind was blank anyway, and his hand holding the receiver? He risked a glance down into his lap where it lay, far from his ear. Nevertheless he could still make out Max's voice.

Aw, too bad. He was upsetting her again, like he always did. He could tell that she was practically yelling at him, else he wouldn't have heard her that clearly, not even with his transgenic sense of hearing. If only his body still obeyed him, he'd more than happily have talked to her, listened to her voice, even if it carried nothing but anger and disappointment. Yeah, even then…

* * *

After what seemed like forever, Max finally directed the Ninja into the street where Logan had said she'd find Alec. And not a second too early for the idiot had stopped responding to her a while back already. She feared to find him unconscious, or worse. But she didn't allow herself to think along those lines. Repeating her little mantra of "He is going to be alright," she let her gaze wander ahead, sighing audibly once she caught sight of an actual phone booth at the very end. Relieved, she thanked her lucky stars that Logan's plan had worked. She'd ask him later what exactly he'd had to do to get the necessary information. Right now all that mattered was to get to Alec as soon as possible.

Max parked her bike, leaving its headlight running so as to penetrate the darkness. She broke into a short run, just a blur to anyone who might have been present to watch, until finally she stood right in front of her destination. Only then did she dare put away her cell phone.

She noticed the splinters of glass before anything else.

Almost as instantly, though, her gaze suddenly met Alec's. All she could do for a few seconds was stare, wide-eyed, and hold her breath—just as he could merely stare at her, a weak smile flitting across his face momentarily, more lopsided than usual.

"Hey Maxie, fancy seeing you here..."

Alec, she thought, only belatedly realizing that she hadn't called his name aloud. He looked so broken. A dark substance—very likely his blood—was staining his torn shirt, his hands. She saw him still lightly holding the receiver in one hand, while his other arm was loosely draped around his abdomen in a protective gesture. There was blood caking the side of his head, his lips. One of his eyes was nearly swollen shut, giving him the expression of having been on the receiving end in some bar brawl or other.

Well, maybe he actually had, it wasn't totally impossible, not even considering he was X5.

"Alec," she eventually forced out and lowered herself to her knees in front of him, mindful of the shards of glass littering the ground beneath her. "Sheesh," she made, taking in his state from up close, while he was still only staring at her, an inscrutable expression edged onto his face. Agitatedly, she moved her hands over his body, not sure how best to assess the damage without hurting him too much. "We need to get you to a doctor, Alec. I'll tell Logan to call one of his contacts—"

She stopped talking as he stared up into her eyes. She ran a hand through his hair, let it linger. Torn between fondness and anger, she eventually settled on the former, and placed a soft kiss on his too cold forehead, breathing into his hair.

There would be time for anger later.

Gently, she loosened his hold on the phone and replaced the receiver where it belonged. Taking out her cell once more, she announced, "You're going to be alright, Alec. We'll get you out of here."

The light touch of his hand on her wrist stopped her, making her re-direct her focus to his clouded eyes. For a moment that hand, holding onto her, was the only thing keeping her grounded to reality. Then she heard him quietly whisper, "They'll find me…"

Puzzled, she frowned at him. His dark eyes, though, held no explanation of his words. "Find you? _Who_?" she asked when he failed to say more, her hands cupping his face, imploring him to talk to her. His cracked lips were mere inches away from hers, his breath a too light breeze of air on her face.

"Please, can't you just… bring me—home? To TC…"

Home? So now TC was "home" again? Max thought, but she didn't comment on it. Instead she said, "Alec. I can't do that. Look at you: you need a doctor, stat."

"No, Max… you don't understand…"

"Of course I don't understand. I have no idea what the hell happened to you. You left, Alec. Months ago you just left. And now you think you can just call me out of nowhere, looking like shit, and expect me to do as you bid? - Do you want me to let you bleed to death after I drove hours to get to you? Is that why you called me of all people? - I don't think so. No, you need medical help and I'm gonna call Logan right now to get you some. I won't discuss this with you, either, you hear?"

Already, she was speed-dialing Logan, intently staring at Alec all the while. But before Logan had a chance to answer, Alec fought to raise himself up enough to grab Max's cell and disconnect the call.

"What the hell-" she hissed as Alec slumped back into his half lying position, looking even more exhausted than before.

His features torn in desperation, he stared at her. His hand groped for hers as if of its own accord, and he held on to it with surprising fierceness. "Please, Maxie…," he implored her, "No one can know..."

"What, Alec? What is going _on?"_

"No one can know I escaped."

Max's eyes widened. "Escaped?" she whispered as their gazes locked once more.


	5. First hints

"Escaped?" Max repeated after she had found her voice again. Why did this sound like a bad Manticore nightmare all over again?

Too exhausted to raise his head, Alec nevertheless managed to keep his eyes trained on his fellow transgenic's face. He saw her gaping at him, her mouth hanging slightly open. It was the most obvious sign showing how much his words had shocked her. Had it not been for his growing sense of desperation, he would have smiled at seeing her bewildered expression—slightly dumb, yet charmingly cute.

As it were, though, desperation turned out to be a more powerful feeling than amusement. And the one raising the more difficult questions; for how was he to explain the whole darn situation to her if he himself didn't seem to know or understand nearly half of it?

Max's quiet voice pulled him back to the present. "Escaped from where?" she wanted to know. A heavy frown had appeared on her forehead, and the only thing Alec could think of was that it looked painful.

"Don't give yourself a headache, pretty girl," he tried to joke, but the joke fell flat when Max ignored it.

"Escaped from who?" she went on. In her pretty head she was surely already mulling over possible logical reasons for him to have escaped from anywhere—and anyone. Alec closed his eyes for only a short moment, the tiredness and cold making his body sluggish, his senses, his mind.

Suddenly, he felt her hands come up to cup his face. When he still failed to lift his chin or show any other sort of reaction in response to her touch, he found her bending closer to him, bending down until he could look at her levelly, could smell the shampoo in her hair as strands of it softly tickled his skin.

"Alec."

Insistently, she prodded him for an answer while her hands had resumed their task of patting him down for the source of all the blood staining his clothes. When her hands found a wad of money and some papers in the pocket of his shirt, her instinct kicked in and she took it all. It didn't seem wise to leave them with him, where someone - a paramedic, a doctor - might discover them later. Who knew what Alec had kept in that pocket? She couldn't risk it giving away his being something other than an ordinary. If Alec had noticed that she took his things, he didn't let on, and she chose not to tell him. Instead, she continued to try and make him talk to her.

"If you're not telling me what you mean by 'escaped' I'm going to have to assume that you only chose that word to make me not call Logan for help. Though I don't honestly believe even you would be so stupid—"

"Max, shut—"

"What? Are you telling me to shut up again? Seriously, Alec?" She sounded affronted, and this time, he truly couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"Love that… look of exasperation, Maxie. Man, I missed that. I missed you…" he whispered hoarsely, his grin momentarily widening. Until the memories came back…

"Alec," Max huffed in annoyance, wondering whether she was more upset about the fact that he dared joke under the current circumstances, or about the fact that his words—spoken lightly and probably without much thought, actually got to her more than they should.

Shaking her head to banish those thoughts—angry at herself this time, she stared hard at him. "You have absolutely no reason to joke, Alec, what with the state you're in… So, unless you come up with a very good reason for me to not have Logan call one of his doctor friends, I think I'll better call him now."

She noticed that his expression had become tense and serious once more. He looked at her, watching as she took off her jacket, then the shirt she was wearing underneath it.

"Max, not sure you noticed, but this isn't exactly a good moment for sexy-time," he mumbled, but said no more when she rolled her eyes at him and put her jacket back on.

Without a word, she gently pried his hand away from where she had located the main source for all the blood, and put her shirt on it.

"Nnnh, Max…"

"Alec. You _need_ a doctor."

"No, I'm—fine."

"Don't be so stubborn. You're not. I don't know what happened to you, but I do know that you are far from being 'fine.' And if you won't talk to me, then I don't know what I could do to help you. Doesn't look like being a transgenic has helped you much in the healing department so far."

At seeing Alec drop his stare in apparent defeat, Max's expression softened. "Come on, smartass," she mumbled sadly, lowering her gaze too, in order to re-direct her focus. With one deep intake of breath she pressed down a little more firmly on his wound in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood, holding his bloodied hand to keep him from shoving her away.

She heard him stifle a cry of pain. Whoever he had gotten involved with this time, they had done a real number on him. Flinching, she forced herself to continue talking sense into him. "I'm going to call Logan now. Don't make me hang up this time, okay? Just—don't."

"No, Max." His voice sounded hollow, barely audible. "Don't," he begged, scaring her with his intense insistence.

But she had to.

* * *

Don't make me say it, Alec pleaded silently, praying that there was another way out of this. A way he couldn't see as of yet. He stared up at Max's face, illuminated by the headlights of her Ninja, which she hadn't turned off. Strangely he only noticed that now.

He wanted to spare her; he honestly did. But then he probably shouldn't have called her…

"Max…"

She merely stared at him accusingly, all softness vanished from her features; her eyes hard and unforgiving, daring him to continue.

Quietly, he took her hand, guided it to where his shirt was torn, his skin ripped apart, raw and open. He didn't even flinch, but her eyes widened once they made contact with what lay hidden under his shirt, under that soaked garment of hers. "It's—a shot wound, Max… I don't need Logan's doctor friends for that. You can take the bullet out, I'll heel..." He didn't even know why he was doing this anymore.

"Alec, we don't even know how bad it is…"

"Can't be that bad, Max. I mean, I'm prime transgenic material after all, right?"

"Cut the crap," was the only response he got for that.

"I screwed up, okay?" he suddenly blurted out, desperate to make her understand. "I screwed up… I—did something and someone got mad." He chuckled humorlessly, not even bothering to look at her. His head felt too heavy anyway.

"Who? Who got mad at you this time?" Alec felt Max press her forehead against his and was grateful for the sudden contact, the closeness. Despite himself he felt at least a little more reassured.

He was so tired. He just wanted to let it all go. Only Max's hands on his body prevented him from drifting off right there and then. Only her sweet scent, the touch of her warm skin, the way she said his name…

"Alec…"

He had missed her, really.

"Alec, stay with me…"

The beep-beep of a phone reached his ears. He had to finish telling her.

"Should have told you eight months ago..." His dry laugh came out as a choked-out cough, rough and tearing at his lungs. "They weren't too happy when they found out..."

"Geez, who are you talking about, Alec?" she hissed, and then, not directed at him at all, "Yes, right there; thanks, Logan."

He smiled then: that was typical of her, not listening to him. Stubborn 452. Of course she had called Logan… Well, maybe it was for the better, he figured. He was finally losing his battle against consciousness for real, slumping further into himself, his head resting against Max's slender form. He couldn't help but feel grateful for her closeness.

"They weren't happy…," he mumbled, no longer aware of what he was saying to her, or that he was saying anything at all.

"Who? Alec, who wasn't happy? About what?—Come on. Stay with me, you gotta keep talking, Alec!"

So tired…

"The S1W for one…"

He didn't see the odd expression on Max's face at hearing that, just as he didn't feel her arms coming around his body and pressing him to her desperately. He didn't feel her chin coming to rest on his head, either.

He merely hung on to one sliver of a thought as unconsciousness eventually claimed him: he was no longer alone. He was not alone in this. He had Max.

* * *

_Ready for some backstory, anyone?_


	6. past and present

_Alright, I promised I'd get started with the backstory, didn't I? - Just a start, though... Are you guys ready?_

* * *

_Eight months earlier..._

A few days after the raising of the flag Alec found himself discussing the future of TC with a group of fellow transgenics as well as what Logan called "friendly associates," among them Logan himself but also OC and Sketch, whose being there was obviously nothing but a gesture. Alec was sitting in an old worn sofa, bouncing his leg, pretending to be listening to Mole and Logan argue about some safety issues. But his mind was elsewhere. Out of the corner of his eye he was watching how carefully Max and the ordinary were acting around each other. He couldn't help suspecting that their little paradise had been shattered again after the short hand-holding interlude up on the roof a couple of days ago.

Why else would she be sitting on the armrest of his sofa now, so close that he could feel the heat of her body, while Logan was on the other side of the room?

"Right, Princess?"

Alec shot a glance in Mole's general direction, then smiled cockily. "Righty-o, my lizard friend," he said, without letting on that he had no clue to what he had just agreed. Right then, Max's hand hit the back of his head. "Ouch," he made and rubbed the spot. Looking at her now, he saw that she was barely hiding her anger.

"Seriously, Alec?" she said.

He raised his hands in defeat, mouthing a "what," but she only glared at him, then got up to walk the length of the room, and back again. She was restless, and annoyed; never a good combination... Suddenly she burst out,

"So why are any of you staying at all? No one is keeping you against your will. I'm not forcing anyone to stay, not you, Mole, nor you, Alec. Leave, if that's what you really want. Me and the others can take care of ourselves; we don't need you for that. So, by all means, do us a favor and leave!"

"Whoa whoa whoa. Max, what the..."

What the hell had he just agreed to? Going by what she had just said, Mole must have come back to his old suggestion of scattering and going to ground instead of staying and making TC a safe place for the transgenics. Uh oh...

"Listen, I was only joking, okay?" he tried to apologize without making it too obvious. "We said we'd make this work. So let's _make_ this work, alright? Let's make TC the save haven you-"

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, two things happened at once.

First, Max exploded at him, shouting, "Joking? You were _joking_ about something as important as our future? What the hell is wrong with you, Alec? I thought you and I, we both wanted this. You said we were in this together. You said you'd be with me, you'd help me make this work! And then you so readily agree to Mole's suggestion to scatter and hide. AGAIN? After what we fought for here? Only to say you were friggin' JOKING a second later?"

Second, just as Logan had told them earlier she would, Asha entered the room, bringing a bunch of her S1W friends. But that wasn't what threw Alec off. No, he had expected Asha and her little terrorist friends. What he hadn't expected, though, was that there'd be a certain tall brunette among them who had the slightest limp that made her gait look curiously like an overacted swagger. There was something disturbing about that sight, something he couldn't quite put a finger on.

"Uh," Asha made, "Sorry, is this a bad time?"

"No, no. Come on in. Thanks for joining us," Logan was quick to welcome her, guiding her over to some free chairs close to where he himself sat next to Dix. Alec saw her give the other man a hug. He saw Max bristle at witnessing their closeness, saw her bite down on her lip and swallow whatever else she had wanted to shout at him. He saw her wave at Asha half-heartedly, heard her mutter an apology and a "thanks for coming." More than anything, though, his attention was drawn to the tall brunette.

"How'd everything go with the S1W?" Logan asked, trying to ignore the awkward silence that had followed Max's outburst.

Asha looked from him to Max and the others, then back at him. "Well," she began. She looked a little uncomfortable, and who could blame her? The atmosphere was just the slightest bit charged, Maxie's temper could do that. Alec knew that all too well. But Asha was a tough girl; she got over her initial discomfort quickly and began telling them her news.

"Well, I hope this is good news to you: the S1W decided to support your cause and join you in whatever will become necessary to make the transgenics a part of our society and government."

That _was_ good news. They needed all the support they could get; and the S1W had resources that would help them greatly. There was just one thing that irked Alec. The tall brunette... Without warning, flashes of images interspersed with a blinding red light made him blink and shake his head. He felt as if someone was probing his brain. Something inside him was revolting. He tried to act normal, to not let on what was happening to him. It wasn't easy. This was how PsyOps sessions could make you feel.

PsyOps. The tall brunette S1W member. Red lights. Reindoctrination. The room in TC, Logan, Max, Joshua, suddenly they all seemed very far away...

An assignment.

A job gone wrong.

Casualties.

Angry voices.

Red lights.

Then he remembered... She had been severely hurt on one of their missions. He had managed to extract her, bring her back, only to hear them say that they might have to put her down. Then he had been made to forget: forget the mission, forget her, forget everything. Manticore had wanted to put her down, she had been injured too severely...

Yet here she was, a member of the S1W.

Did she know who she was - or rather: _what_ she was? Did the S1W even know that they had a transgenic among their ranks?

And what was her agenda?

* * *

_[The present]_

The S1W…

Max couldn't believe what she had heard. She didn't understand it either. What did Alec have to do with the S1W?

_They weren't happy…_ he had said. The S1W weren't happy, about something they had found out. What could it have been, though? What could have led to Alec's path crossing that of the S1W, out here in Portland? And could it really be that they were in any way to blame for what had happened to him? She had a hard time believing that. Should she try and ask Asha about this? Or would that endanger Alec further? Could it be that Logan knew anything about any of it? He and Asha were very close friends after all…

Suddenly, Alec's full weight slumped against her, which didn't allow Max to dwell on her disturbing thoughts for much longer. Automatically, her arms tightened around her injured friend. She hoped Logan's help was already on the way.

"Alec," she called his name, but he didn't stir. No repeating helped; no angry ordering him to "_Wake_ _up, 494_!"

Where was the help Logan had promised? Why did it keep them so long?

Only a few hours ago, she had thought she finally had her life under control. Until that call from Alec had messed it all up again. Now here she was, holding onto a guy she had so desperately tried to forget during the last couple of months; a guy who had been part of her life in the past, but wasn't anymore, or so she had made herself believe. Now he was back, and Logan's friends might just be on the verge of turning out to be a bunch of sick mafia-type people who shot people.

"What have you gotten yourself into, Alec?"

Unconsciously, she tightened her embrace until Alec's head came to rest in the crook of her neck. Rocking herself back and forth, she cradled him gently, his too weak breathing, the too light flutter of his heart the only indicators that she wasn't holding a dead body.

If he died on her now, she'd never be able to forgive herself. She'd always blame herself for not having done more, for not having gotten to him earlier, or not having called for help sooner.

"Don't do this to me," she muttered into his hair, "I need you, Alec."

* * *

She had no idea how much time had passed when finally a rescue van pulled up next to them and two guys that looked like regular paramedics got out. All she knew was that Alec was still alive. She didn't let them out of her sight once while they were checking Alec's vital signs and strapping him onto a gurney.

"You're Max, right? Logan's friend."

She stared at the stranger who was talking to her.

"Uh huh."

"Name's Ray. - Max, if you wanna come with, let's go. You can ride with your friend in the back of the ambulance if you want. But we have to get moving. Oh, and: Logan said to tell you he is sending someone over for your motorcycle."

She nodded. Logan knew her too well. He would think of hiring someone to come get her bike so that she wouldn't have to worry about it herself. He was a good guy. He couldn't have known anything about this mysterious S1W-business of Alec's.

Right?

Focusing her attention back on the paramedic, she finally asked, "Will he be okay?"

She couldn't help wondering whether what she had done was the right thing to do, calling Logan, getting help. Maybe it would have been better if she had done what Alec had asked of her: if she had pulled out the bullet and hadn't asked Logan for help. Then again, Logan had already known where they were. He had been the one to find Alec's location to begin with. If he really had anything to do with any shady business of the S1W, he could have killed Alec a long time ago. No, Logan couldn't have been involved in what had happened to him.

"Ray, let's get going. Kid really needs surgery," the man's partner urged, sounding impatient, and Max found "Ray" respond with a curt nod before he signed for her to hop on the van with him.

"Can't make no promises, but your friend looks like one hell of a fighter. Dr. Roberts over at St. Marie's, he's really good. No need to lose hope yet, okay, sweetie?"

She glared at him and he chuckled nervously. "I mean, Max. Max. - Right. Logan mentioned something about you not being too - uh - fond of endearments… Sorry about that. - Um, let's get going."

Once they were in the back of the van, the driver sped away. Max had to hold on to the wall to steady herself and not land face first on Alec's secured gurney. She remembered the cell she was still clutching in one fist and as soon as she did, she was already speed-dialing Logan's number. Almost instantly she heard his calm, sonorous voice.

* * *

"Max. Are you alright? Is Alec..?"

Logan exchanged a glance with Joshua, who was sitting in the passenger seat of his car, holding a map of Portland in his hands, his nose nearly buried in the paper when he met Logan's gaze. "Li'l fella and Alec alright?" he asked, and Logan could only shrug.

_"Logan?"_

"I don't know, yet, Josh, hold on," Logan whispered, before redirecting his attention to Max. "Max. You can trust these guys, alright? Ray is an old friend, and he says this doctor he knows, Dr. Roberts, won't ask too many questions."

"_Okay…"_ Max sounded tired, yet wary.

"We're already on our way. We'll be there in no time, alright?"

"_We?"_

"Joshua and I."

"_Oh."_

"How are you holding up, Max?"

"_Alright, I guess. Alec is… He lost a lot of blood. He got shot, Logan. I didn't wanna take the bullet out myself, transgenic or not."_

"That's probably a wise decision. Don't let Alec tell you otherwise." He tried to sound humorous, but failed.

"It's going to be alright, Max. Listen, Asha is here, too. I'll hand the phone over to her, okay? She wants to talk to you."

Logan had expected a lot of things, but he wasn't exactly prepared for Max calling out one oddly frantic-sounding "No!" once Logan had mentioned their blond friend's name.

Frowning, he locked gazes with an oblivious Asha, who was sitting in the back of the car, before his eyes fell on Joshua sitting beside him, unable to communicate Max's odd behavior to any of them. And maybe he shouldn't. Something was definitely off.

Had Max really sounded panicked at learning that Asha was coming to Portland with Logan and Joshua? Or had he imagined it?

"Logan? Can I talk to Max now?" Asha looked at him inquiringly, and he couldn't help but stare at her in puzzlement and worry…


	7. what's in a name

_Thanks, everyone, for all the great reviews! - I owe you a new chapter, so let's get on with the story now, shall we?  
_

* * *

Max sounded urgent. "_Listen, Logan,"_ he heard her say,_ "I can't explain this right now, but you can't bring her with you, at least not to the hospital. Geez, why did you have to bring her at all? And Josh... - What did you tell Asha__? Did you tell her that this is about Alec?"_

"Um, not exactly," he said and it was the truth.

"_Good. Don't. You hear me, Logan? Don't mention that this is about him."_

Logan improvised. Looking at Asha, he said by way of explanation, "Max says she can't really talk right now."

"But Logan, I only want her to tell Ray-"

"Hold on," he interrupted her and directed his focus back to Max.

_"Don't say anything to her, Logan, okay?"_

"Uh, sure thing, Max." He paused, even though Max didn't say anything back. He barely heard her breathe. It would probably be wise to let her know why he had brought Asha to begin with, it might calm her down a bit. "Listen, that guy Ray? He's been helping some of the local S1W members in the past - Asha was actually the one recommending him. She says he's a good guy, and he knows the right people."

_"Crap,"_ he heard Max say and he tensed. _"He's S1W? That's friggin' fantastic!"_

"Well, no, he isn't, actually," he informed her, and wondered whether that would make her feel any better. He couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around her odd behavior. "He only helped them in the past."

_"I hope that's true; I really hope that's true... - I gotta go, Logan. Remember, don't tell her-"_

"Anything. Right. - I'll do that, I'll tell her thanks from you. - See you in a bit, Max." With that he hung up.

What the hell was that? Max had made him feel uneasy. Now that he thought about it, it did seem a little rushed that he had just aquiesced to both Asha's and Josh's insistent demands to come to Portland with him. He had only wanted to help Max. Now he kind of got the feeling that he might have made things even worse.

And what about Asha had made Max seem so reserved, nearly hostile toward her? She was their friend.

Right?

* * *

_Eight months earlier..._

"Alec!" Max was snapping her fingers in front of his face, jolting him out of his stupor. He nearly jumped._  
_

"What?"

With her head cocked to the side, she looked at him strangely. "Are you alright?" She asked him. He could tell how reluctantly she had asked that question; yet even now that she was angry at him she simply couldn't NOT care about him. He smiled at the thought.

"If I said I wasn't, would you stop being mad at me and just accept my apology?"

"Apology?" She grinned, a little devilishly.

Darn, had he really just said that? Dumbass. He wanted to deny it; instead, he nodded sheepishly and smiled at her lopsidedly. A devilishly happy Max who thought she had the upper hand on him was still better than a pissed off Max who hated his guts.

Again, she hit his head, but more playfully this time, and said: "I'll think about it. - Now be a good little transgenic and say hi to our new friends here. This is Rex, Kevin..."

Alec had gotten up and now shook first Rex's hand, then Kevin's. The two guys nodded at him. Then he found himself mere inches from the tall female transgenic and looked up into her face. She was one tall chick.

"Fawn," the brunette introduced herself before Max could do it and she stuck out her hand to shake his. For a few seconds, all Alec could do was stare. Max read something else into it, for she suddenly jolted him out of his stupor by saying,

"Do me a favor? Don't start hitting on her; you'd just look ridiculous. You'd be way in over your head. Literally." She stifled a chuckle.

"Hello, Fawn, I'm Alec," he eventually managed and shook her offered hand, strangely mesmerized. Geez. What the hell was wrong with him?

So her name was Fawn. It didn't sound the least bit familiar. Yet she was the one he had seen in his flashbacks, he was sure of that now. Besides, names didn't mean much, not back in the day. He had probably only known her by her designation. If she had had one...

Did she remember him, too? He locked gazes with her, unblinkingly staring into the depths of her pupils. He couldn't detect anything, no recognition, no acknowledging their shared transgenic background, nothing.

"Nice to meet you."

Darkness threatened to envelop his mind.

PsyOps had made him forget the entire assignment, their failure. PsyOps had made him forget her, and now she was here.

Had she _been_ PsyOps? _Was_ she still?

* * *

_[The present]_

Things rushed by Alec as if they were part of a hazy dream; whitish walls, glass doors, people. While a constant dull murmur filled his ears, his eyes were filled with a too bright light. He tried to turn his head, to look for Max. But he had lost the grip on her hand a long time ago and was now floating freely in this strange land of half-consciousness and hospital surroundings.

Everything was only cotton, and pain; and coldness. Now that her warm hand was no longer clasping his, he was actually freezing. He knew that wasn't logical or even possible. The touch of one small hand couldn't have such an effect on his sense of temperature. He knew that. And yet he wanted it back, that touch that kept him grounded. Looking for her dark head bobbing up in a sea of faceless strangers, he felt like he was drowning.

He was dimly aware of strangers sticking needles into him, shining flashes of cruelly bright light into his already hurting eyes. He heard them talk; whether to each other or to him, he couldn't be sure. All he could make out was nonsensical gibberish. He knew this wasn't Manticore, but he couldn't quite fight down the urge to fight them off. His arms were lashing out as if of their own accord, his legs were kicking at anything, until his glazed eyes finally discovered Max, until the touch was back, Max's hand in his, and he knew he was safe. This wasn't PsyOps. This wasn't Reindoctrination - or she wouldn't be here holding his hand. As long as she was with him, he knew he could let go.

He smiled at her before his eyes eventually rolled back into his head and all went blissfully dark around him once more.

* * *

He had said something to her; in the back of the ambulance Alec had said something. He hadn't really wanted to tell her anything, she knew that. But he had anyway, because he trusted her.

"Don't tell them anything," he had muttered, his gaze too unfocused to linger on her face for longer than a second.

"Tell them what, Alec? Who?" Her questions had been quiet, gentle, just like her hold onto his hand. He had squeezed hers, though, with sudden vehemence. A bright fever in his eyes, he had sounded urgent when he said, "They'll already know I escaped… They have their ways; people like them always have, you know that. But," and here he had suddenly tried to lean forward, prevented only by Ray, the paramedic, who had carefully placed a hand on his chest to hold him down. At least she had been pretty certain by then that neither of the paramedics suspected who their patient and his companion really were. They were still acting too carelessly around them, not like they were in the company of genetically enhanced super soldiers.

Ray had exchanged a meaningful glance with Max, which she had taken as a cue to bend down over her injured friend until her lips nearly touched his ear. Then she had whispered, "Stay calm, Alec. I don't think these guys should know we're Manticore. Let them take out that bullet and then we'll leave. - You're gonna be alright."

The look he'd given her, she was sure it would haunt her for days—maybe even weeks to come. So lost and uncertain; so young. So not like him.

"I'm sorry," he had said. "I shouldn't… she probably didn't even know, Max. Don't think she did."

Was he talking about Asha? Max wondered, yet she hadn't dared interrupt him.

"We can't let them go on with it, Maxie," he had continued whispering, his ragged intakes of breath coming in quick succession. His bad state had been starting to seriously worry her by then. He was X5, after all, he shouldn't be that much affected by a stupid bullet wound.

The paramedic had drawled out a simple warning, "Take it easy, dude." But Alec hadn't even acknowledged the other man's presence. Instead, he had gone on talking. "Quite smart of them, the way they're going about it, don't you think? No one could ever suspect..." He had grinned at her then, too weak to chuckle. Max hadn't thought it a laughing matter, anyway. Too quickly he had turned all serious again, though, staring at her out of hollow eyes, disturbingly apologetically. Sighing, he had seemed to be making up his mind, before starting to talk again. "In my apartment…," he had said.

Those had been the last words he managed to say to her. He had failed to tell her any more, just that: _In my apartment... _But what _about_ his apartment? What was in it?

Max had to find out what had happened to Alec. She would find his apartment and search the place until she found whatever it was that he had wanted to tell her; if it was the last thing she did.

Watching Alec now, lying there, having strangers in scrubs working on him, Max had to fight the impulse to just grab him and rush out of the hospital. It all looked too much like Manticore's lab rooms. This all seemed way too familiar. But she managed to stay put and not let her instincts take over, at least for the moment. Manticore was gone, after all, burned to the ground. Whatever Alec had gotten involved in, it couldn't get any worse than anything Manticore had ever done to them.

If only she knew what Alec had discovered. What would it mean for her, for Logan, for Asha?

Logan…

Barely had she let the whispered name roll off her lips, when suddenly she saw him enter the hospital's entrance hall, followed by Joshua, his head hidden under a wide hoodie. Logan discovered her almost instantly. With a worried frown marring his features, he headed her way. An honest frown, it seemed to be.

Or was it?


	8. 8

Max followed Logan's progress warily. He was heading straight to where she stood guarding Alec while Dr. Roberts and his crew worked on him.

She knew they'd tell her to leave soon anyway, so she bent down over her friend's prone form and whispered, "I'll be right outside waiting, Alec. I'll get you as soon as they're done patching you up. We'll sneak you outta here in no time, you hear me? Just let them get that bullet out first." And with one last gentle kiss on his clammy cheek, she left the room to meet her friends.

* * *

Logan was already waiting right outside the trauma room. "Are you alright?" he asked Max when she got out. She merely nodded in reply, not reciprocating his cautious embrace at all, which for once had nothing to do with the lingering virus-threat. She felt sorry for him, she honestly did. It was more than probable that neither Asha, nor Logan had anything to do with what had happened to Alec. Hadn't Alec even said something to that extent? _She probably didn't know anything?_ Granted, Max didn't have the slightest idea who he had been talking about. She had simply assumed it was Asha since he had implicated the S1W before.

Yet for some reason Max didn't find it in herself to trust Logan as fully as she usually did. Not as long as she didn't know what that business with the S1W was all about. Not until she knew whether Asha had anything to do with it. Because if she had, chances were that Logan was involved somehow too.

Thankfully, she couldn't detect Asha anywhere near them, which meant that Logan had at least heeded her request to not bring her to the hospital.

"Max?" Logan stood in front of her, awkwardly trying to bridge the gap between them, yet failing.

It was Joshua who pulled her in for a bear hug, breaking the tension a little. "Li'l fella alright?" he asked, not letting her go until she assured him that she was. "Alec alright, too?"

"He's Alec, Joshua. He will be," she said and wasn't so sure she trusted her own words.

"Well," Logan drew out, sounding self-conscious, "Everything is ready. Once Dr. Roberts has patched Alec up enough, we can take him out of here. The car is parked right outside the door," he pointed behind him, "And even though I don't know what the hell is going on with you and Asha, I managed to persuade her to stay at some friend's place for the night; I said you and I had some urgent business to do, and that this was all about some important politician who was willing to fight our cause and him having gotten severely injured..."

He droned on a bit longer, but Max couldn't pay attention to anything he said. For some reason, she felt like she needed to get out of the place, stat. She needed air, she needed to get away from Logan. She needed to clear her head, to find Alec's place. Most of all, she needed to save his friggin' ass.

She looked up into Joshua's trusting big brown eyes, then leaned closer to him. Standing on tip-toe so that she was closer to his ear, she whispered, "Have an eye on him for me, Josh, will you? I gotta blaze, but I'll come back soon. Just, don't let him out of your sight."

"Max - Max gotta blaze?" Joshua looked bewildered, but there was no time for explanations. So she just started to run.

* * *

_Five months earlier..._

When Alec hung up the phone, he felt empty, sad. Joshua hadn't sounded too happy, either. Apparently basically every single one of the transgenics had left TC after he had left. They had left Max. He wondered whether it had been the wrong decision not to tell Max anything. For now it must feel to her as if he had coldly abandoned her.

The thing was, he _had_ abandoned her. When he should have told her his suspicions, when he should have confided in Max, he had left. That he had made Josh promise to stay with Max, to never ever leave her side, hadn't really made things any better for her. Even though Josh, the good and trusty friend that he was, _had_ stayed.

Admittedly Alec had never really believed that the whole idea of TC as a safe haven had any real future, and time and circumstances hadn't helped change his mind. But he had promised her; he had promised her to stay by her side and try and make things work. If he was honest with himself he knew they could have made a difference, if only he had tried harder - no, if only he had _tried,_ period.

Up on the roof, about a month ago now, he had felt so alive, so full of hope. For the first time in his life he had felt like he belonged - with Max, with his fellow transgenics. Even though his first instinct had been to scatter and go to ground, like Mole had suggested, he had eventually changed his mind, he had stayed, because for some reason, running away had no longer seemed an option.

Then, something had happened, and things had changed. Now he was here, in Portland, as part of an S1W splinter cell. They didn't know who he was, or what. They thought he was one of them. Luckily for him no one had tried to check back with their fellows in Seattle, yet.

"Yo, Alex!" The shout made him alert instantly. Time to leave.

A lanky figure made their way to the phone booth from which he had called the big guy. "Whatcha doing here, my man?" The figure turned into Greg, his S1W comrade.

"Had a call to make." Alec sighed. The guy was turning into a nuisance, always appearing where he shouldn't be.

"Well, hope you're done now, Lexy, coz Rommie wants you in her office. Now."

"Rommie? What's this about?"

"Apparently she talked to some chick heading the other cell up in the north of the city, Shawn, or something?"

Oh crap. Alec flinched.

"Anyway, she wants to rush things a bit with the government. Says if they're not willing to include us in their decision making processes or whatever, we should place some bombs and stuff, go terrorist on them. Know what I mean? - Seriously, Alex, Rommie is pissed. I mean, that northern chick is flat out dangerous, man."

Alec raised an eyebrow, then followed the other man wordlessly. Fawn...

He had followed Fawn to Portland, always staying well out of her sight. He had been observing her every movement ever since he had been re-introduced to her back in TC. He remembered the day clearly when Asha had announced that a couple of her people were to go and support other S1W cells throughout the country. And when he had heard that Fawn would be one of them, he had had no choice but to follow her.

He had kept things simple enough, he had only changed one letter of his name, had exchanged his dark clothes for lighter tones, had cut his hair even shorter. And he had bought himself a pair of glasses... The perfect complaisant Logan-persona, what was not to love about that?

It looked like that persona might soon have to be put to the test. If Rommie wanted to talk to him about anything regarding Fawn, he was dangerously close to mixing up all the different threads of his life, Manticore, being a transgenic, the S1W. He only hoped that he could somehow prevent Rommie from sending him out to actually _meet_ with Fawn...

* * *

_[The present]_

Max ran away from the trauma room, past a startled Logan and startled clinic personnel, past the admissions desk and out through the wide open entrance doors of the hospital. The pang she felt at leaving Alec behind almost choked her, it was so intense. But she ran on, she ran until she was a blur and the cold night air was burning in her lungs, nearly making her gag on her own desperate intakes of breath.

Finally, she was spent enough to slow her pace, falling into more of an actual walking gait, before she finally stopped altogether. Gripping her head with both hands she allowed her face to scrunch up. Yet her stinging eyes refused to release tears. It was not the time to cry. She had things to do. She had to go to Alec's apartment. She had to find his truth.

She forced herself to calm down, took deep and even breaths, first in, then out, in - out, until the lump in her throat slowly dissolved and she felt a little better. Taking out the papers she had taken from Alec earlier, she quickly scanned them: a bunch of receipts from the same take-out place, the bill from a dry cleaner's on the same street, a phone number on the beercoaster of a pub only a few blocks further down the road... And a note saying: Portland Town Hall - 10:00 a.m., no date.

She had found what she needed: a hint to where she would find his place, and another part of the puzzle: Portland Town Hall... But first, his place. Once there, she'd know what to do next, or so she hoped.

What she hadn't anticipated, though, was that Logan had come in his stupid Exo-skeleton and had thus been able to catch up with her way too easily so that he was coming up right by her side just as she wanted to blur.

"Max!" he shouted, "What the hell is going on?"

"Logan! What-"

The incongruently cheery sound of a cell phone's ringtone startled them both, making Max fall quiet almost instantly.

"Excuse me," Logan rasped out. He was still staring bemusedly at her while he was fumbling for the cell somewhere in his pockets.

Max could only watch as he checked the display. Glancing up again to face her, he said,

"It's Asha…"

Their gazes locked once more.

They waited…


	9. 9

When Alec opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was an odd looking man fumbling nervously with a map or some such thing that had begun to look pathetically out of shape. It wasn't exactly the kind of scene he would have wanted to wake up to. A cute girl sitting by his side, ogling him worriedly, on the other hand, now that sounded much more pleasant.

Then again, he was probably lucky to still be alive...

"Alec!" Josh's voice suddenly blurted, and only then did Alec's brain process the fact that the "man sitting by his side" was indeed none other than the Big Fella. He sounded oddly worried and for some reason, Alec felt the need to apologize. Yet his throat was sore and the words simply wouldn't come.

"Alec feeling better?" the dog-faced transgenic asked, patting Alec's arm awkwardly. Creases had appeared on his broad forehead, creases of true and heartfelt… worry. Alec couldn't help but think that there weren't many people he had seen looking at him with that expression carved onto their faces. Only two, actually: Joshua — and Max.

It was then that the events of the night finally caught up with him. The walk to the Town Hall where he had been supposed to meet the others; those conspicuous looking strangers… The pang of a bullet going through his body, before he had had a chance to run and hide. How he had immediately known something was wrong about that bullet wound when a searing pain had numbed him instantly. It had nearly paralyzed him. He had felt so woozy quite suddenly that he hadn't been able to fight off the arms that had come up around him and dragged him away. The bullets had to have emitted some toxin or other, or else he wouldn't ever have let them capture him. He still didn't understand how things could have gone south so quickly. Where had he messed up? Or when?

"Alec?" Josh's worried voice entered his awareness and he smiled awkwardly, trying to reassure his friend that he was okay.

Then he realized that Max was nowhere to be seen. She had said she'd be there. She had said she'd get him out of the hospital as soon as the bullet was out. So where was she? Uneasiness gripped him and he tried to get out of the bed. He had to talk to her, stat.

But Joshua put his heavy paw-like hand onto his chest and said, "Alec wait here for Max. No moving. Max said to take care of you."

"Come on, big guy, there's no need for that. I'm alright now. The bullet is out, right? So let's just go. Where's Maxie, eh?" He started to get up again only to fall back against his pillow almost instantly. Wow, he thought, everything still felt strangely blurry…

"Alec in — pain? Alec need Joshua to call the doctor?" Josh patted Alec's arm again, even dared to place one warm hand on Alec's forehead for a short while.

The younger one looked up at him skeptically, his stare boring into Josh as if he were an alien. "I'm fine, Josh," he insisted, though he knew he really wasn't. Whatever the bullet had released into his system, it was still there. For how else could the persisting pain be explained, or the fact that he was still feeling so out of it? He was an X5 after all, he should have felt better as soon as the doc had extracted the stupid piece of metal. He decided to ignore his current state and not let on how he was really feeling, for Joshua as well as for his own sake. It was always better to worry about others than about yourself, he figured.

"Where is Max, Josh?" he therefore changed the topic and resumed his task of getting out of bed. He nearly gasped as the pain returned full force to the home it had found in his stomach, lodged deep inside of him, threatening to take over his senses and claim his consciousness. Stupid bullet wound!

He really needed to speak to Max. He had waited too long to tell her everything, and now time was running out. That's why he so desperately needed to know where she was.

"Where is she, Josh? I really need to…" Before he could get out the question, everything started swimming, blurring, vanishing yet again and he saw Josh grab his arm. Dammit, he thought, this was not good.

"Alec sleep now. Joshua will wait and watch," he heard his friend say and thought, _no Josh, I need to talk to Max!_ But his body didn't obey him and he drifted off.

* * *

"_It's Asha…," _Logan had announced what felt like a lifetime ago.

Asha

Max's heart was beating too fast in its cage, her thoughts going a mile a minute, chasing each other. This felt a little like a showdown; surreal and yet more real than anything else had felt in the past few hours. Max felt her skin begin to prickle uncomfortably, the bristling feeling making her feel strangely alive.

Was this it; the call that would end everything? Would Logan give Alec's whereabouts away? Would he give Alec away; give _them_ away? In the blink of an eye everything could change, for better or for worse, she couldn't know.

"Listen, Max. I'll have to answer this. But don't run away again, please." Logan looked at her imploringly, begging her to stay. How could she do that, though? How could she stay and do nothing? After what Alec had said about the S1W…

Later, Max would never be quite able to say where her next thought had come from. She would never know where her sudden bold trust in Logan had come from, either. But seeing the ordinary get ready to talk to his S1W friend, Max eventually put all her eggs in one basket, hoping for the best.

"No, Logan; listen to me!" she called out. "The S1W were somehow involved in what happened to Alec. He never managed to tell me much, but they must have captured and shot him - and I don't know whether Asha is involved or not, but I just can't risk it. Logan, I can't," she blabbed, continuing without pause, "He said they are still looking for him. You can't tell her anything about this; please. Logan. You _can't_. Not yet."

Logan stared at her disbelievingly, his frown deepening. "The S1W wouldn't do something like that..." he muttered, doubtful. "That's ridiculous..."

"Logan," Max hissed imploringly. The cell was chirping on and on.

"Alright," Logan made, still not looking too convinced, "If what Alec said is true... Let me try and...," Without finishing his sentence, he suddenly put his cell to his ear. Max let out a deflating sigh, battling the urge to blur and take it away from him before he could talk to Asha. She forced her arms to go slack at her sides and wait.

What had she done? What would happen to Alec if Logan didn't deserve the trust she had put in him?

* * *

_Five months earlier..._

"Alex! Over here!" the bossy blonde waved a hand at him as soon as he entered her office, and he shot a glance at Greg who quietly followed him in, shrugging.

"Rommie."

"We have a problem."

"Yeah, Greg said that a chick from the Northern cell..."

The woman waved her hand again as she spoke over him, "Remember when you came here, when was that? Three months ago? Remember what you said to me?"

"Uh..."

"You said that you had intel on the S1W being infiltrated, right? You said that you and a couple of others had gotten intel that the infiltration had started back in Seattle."  
Alec nodded, unsure of where this was going. He felt uneasiness creep up his spine as his boss was digging right at the heart of his cover story. Had his cover somehow been blown when she had met Fawn? Did Fawn know he was on her? He was just preparing himself for the worst, when he heard Rommie say,

"I trusted you back then, didn't I? Because I had to. After all, I couldn't exactly check back with anyone in Seattle. - If what you said was true it would have jeoparized everything that we've been doing here ever since you came. It would have jeopardized our whole mission of exposing the infiltrators and restoring the S1W..."

"Yeah..." Alec remained cautious. He still had no idea where this was going, and he was trained too well not to let anyone's words lull him into a false sense of safety.

"Alex. That girl, Fawn, from the north? Greg told you about her newest plans of turning us into a bunch of terrorists? Just when we finally got the government and the public, even the idiotic press people, to accept that that's what we are NOT?" Alec was smart enough not to say anything when she paused and locked gazes with him. "Could she by any chance be one of those infiltrators?"

Alec clenched his teeth. If he validated her suspicion, everything would suddenly be out in the open. Fawn would be under close scrutiny - and chances would be that very soon someone found out about her Manticore background. Did he really want that? Since he still didn't know why Fawn was with the S1W and whether it could have anything to do with Manticore, he was reluctant to expose her just yet.

What if he denied knowing anything, though? What if this was a set-up and Rommie was testing him?

Maybe she wasn't after Fawn at all, maybe she was after _him..._

* * *

_[The present]_

Logan eventually answered the phone...

"Asha, hey. What is it?" He spoke briskly. Nothing in his voice gave away anything that had happened in the previous minutes. He could see that Max, though she wasn't running from him this time, seemed to be more than a little unsure about what to make of him at that very moment. After everything he had just learned he couldn't blame her, really, could he?

"_Logan. Where are you?"_

He raised an eyebrow, catching Max's gaze. With one hand ruffling his hair, he turned away from her slightly, though making sure not to lose sight of her.

"Why do you ask?"

Max was fidgeting nervously. He couldn't help thinking that a nervous X5 was some sight to see. He felt the need to raise a hand in some calming gesture, though he couldn't be sure she'd read it as such. She was so tense; a miracle that she hadn't up and run, again. Something made her stay… He dared hope it was him. But all of a sudden that thought seemed quite daring; and, strangely, that realization hurt more than Max's previous running away from him.

"_Why do I ask?"_ Asha sounded exasperated._ "I came with you to Portland because I thought I could help you guys with whatever is going on. Instead you drop me off at my friend's place, tell me to stay put and that's that? What is going on? Where's Max? Is this really about some politician, or are you just trying to...?"_

He rubbed the palm of his hand over his furrowed brow in an attempt to fight off a beginning headache. This was ridiculous.

"Asha," he sighed. "I'm - sorry, I shouldn't have brought you with me. We're a little busy right now, though, okay? I can't really talk-"

"_Really, Logan? You're giving me the 'I can't talk' treatment? First Max, now you. What is going _on_? Listen, this is ridiculous, let me just… I need to tell you something and I…,"_ her voice was faltering, taking on a strange note. Logan figured she was just upset with him. She didn't sound like she was about to spring some life-altering news about the true nature of the S1W on him anytime soon. Alec had probably gotten something wrong, or Max had. She _must_ have...

"I'm sorry, Asha," he told her, "I'll send someone over to come pick you up and drive you back to Seattle, alright? I promise we'll talk later..."

"_No! Logan! No, I mean - I just think you should know, in case this has anything to do with your politician or whatever…"_

Logan tensed, searching for Max's gaze. "Know what?" he asked, directed at Asha, but looking intently at Max all the while.

"_Logan…,"_ Asha began, then sighed. The line went completely quiet for a while. Only a gentle rustle of static reached Logan's ear before Asha spoke again and everything changed.

* * *

_Uh oh... - More anyone?_


	10. everything starts to unfold

_Today: a shout-out to everyone who's reading this, especially the super awesome reviewers: WOOT WOOT, you guys! Also thanks to the "lurkers" - and the ones who favorited this, even though it's not even done yet. Thank you! - Now let's get on with this story..._

* * *

With bated breath Max waited while Logan was on the phone with Asha. She was counting the seconds in her head, until they turned into actual minutes; three, five, then seven... Eight full minutes passed before Logan finally terminated the call with a swift movement of his hand. Tiredly, he faced her, his gaze flickering with some indefinable emotion. He had been quiet throughout the whole conversation with Asha, the only noise coming from him a hissed intake of breath at one point and after that a silence so complete that it worried Max more than any conspiratorial sounding remarks could have done.

His continuing quietness forced her to wait even longer for any info on what had transpired through his phone conversation. But she couldn't wait any more. "What did she say?" she therefore blurted out impatiently, while in her head she was already mulling over what to do next. She needed to make a decision: was it safe to stay, or should she run without waiting for what Logan had to say, even though that peculiar feeling of trust still prevailed.

But before she had made up her mind as to how to proceed from there, how best to confront him about the phone call, Logan finally quietly started talking. "I'm…," He stopped. Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, he stood there, seemingly debating with himself what to say next. It grated on Max's nerves how much time he took.

She frowned. "Spit it out, Logan," she said, "What did Asha have to say? Did it have anything to do with Alec?" She couldn't help a note of dread creeping into her voice as she said his name. Alec was in the hospital, and she was out here. Maybe she should have just waited by his side instead of rushing out with no real idea what had happened, or a plan on what to do. She didn't even know whether Alec was alright. She didn't know anything anymore. Having to drag every friggin' word out of Logan didn't make things easier. At. All.

"This can't be true. Max, you won't believe this," Logan eventually muttered and let his shoulders sag. He sounded beat.

"What the hell happened, Logan?" She almost screamed at him, she was so annoyed. "What are you talking about?"

For a moment, they simply stood there facing each other; too much space between them and at the same time not nearly enough. Max forced herself to remain as calm as possible when she pleaded, "Talk to me, Logan."

Finally, he did.

* * *

Drifting back to consciousness, the first thing Alec noticed was Joshua's absence. Even before his vision had cleared sufficiently enough for him to make out the different shapes in his room he was acutely aware of his friend's missing presence. Where had he gone?

Then, with a sudden pang, he thought of Max. Max, who was involved in all his crap now, too. He shouldn't have dragged her into all of it. He shouldn't have called her to begin with. You just didn't do that to the people you loved, you didn't put them in danger.

Alec was still berating himself when he heard quiet voices talking somewhere in the hallway. His transgenic sense of hearing quickly told him that it was only two nurses talking about a patient but he tensed anyway. Soon, someone might be coming for him. He wasn't safe here. He had to find a way out of this place without drawing too much attention to himself.

He figured sitting up would be a good start, but as he did so the sudden movement jarred his wound uncomfortably. He hissed as his body protested against the change in position. But he couldn't just lie there and wait for them to come for him. He had to go, and he had to find Max. She was the only one who could help him now, the only one he could truly trust.

Without looking, Alec let his fingers search for the IV port and ripped it out unceremoniously. He was barely aware of the resulting trickle of blood that began running down his arm. He was too focused on assessing the lay of the room. If he wanted to make a swift exit and not alert anyone to his leaving, he would have to go through the window. Great. With the friggin' hole in his belly that should just be a walk in the park.

Absently, he wiped at the blood on his arm before beginning to hoist his legs out of the bed. That did not prove to be his smartest move, though, as a tearing feeling ripped through his stomach. Doubling over in agony, he wrapped both arms tightly around his abdomen and groaned in pain just when Joshua walked back into the room.

"Medium fella to stay in bed till Max is back," the big guy scolded, and Alec had to grin. He was one lucky guy that it was only his very own personal dog-faced nurse who had entered the room, or he would have been really screwed. He was in no condition to fight. For a soldier that was bad news. For a genetically enhanced soldier on the run that was super bad news indeed...

"Sorry, big fella, no can do," he said through clenched teeth, as he tried to get out of bed again. "Listen, I really need to talk to Max - do you know where she-"

"Alec to stay _in bed_."

"Can't, Josh. It's important, okay?" Alec tried again. Geez, the big guy had some very bossy bedside manners he thought as he was fighting to stand up. Joshua eventually grudgingly helped him. But the frown on his face spoke volumes: Joshua was not pleased with his patient.

It took Alec a while before he could straighten up completely and put some actual weight on his feet. "Where're my things, big fella? Help me find them, I need to go find Max."

"But, li'l fella said-"

"Geez, Josh. Come _on._ She might be in danger - because of _me._ I have to find her…"

"But…" The older man looked hopelessly uncertain, two things battling inside him: he had promised Max to stay with Alec and make sure he was okay, but now Alec said Max was in danger. The two people he loved most in the world... Joshua didn't know what to do.

"Come on, dude…"

When he looked at Alec again, the younger one seemed all determined and ready to go - except for the fact that he looked way paler than usual. Not like an X5 should look, no, not at all. Medium fella would need help.

And Josh couldn't just stay here and wait while Max was out - out blazing, doing dangerous things, all alone.

* * *

Logan was staring at Max, then back at the cell that he was still holding in his hand. "There's been an attack," he eventually whispered.

"What?" Max stared at him, her incomprehension evident. All of a sudden, the air seemed to lack a sufficient amount of oxygen as she struggled to take a deep breath. "Where? - Are Alec and Josh..."

Logan pocketed his phone quickly and extended his hands as if he meant to hug her. At the last moment he caught himself and took a step back. "They're alright, Max," he clarified, hugging his own arms awkwardly. "It wasn't anywhere near the hospital. Alec and Josh should be alright."

Max exhaled a breath she didn't know she had been holding as instant relief coursed through her. Alec and Joshua were safe. She closed her eyes for only a moment before she asked, "What kind of attack, though? Where? I mean - what happened? How did Asha-"

"-know about it?" Logan completed her question and she nodded. "Well, apparently you were right. The attack, it was the S1W. Asha just got intel that the local Portland cell just bombed the Town Hall." A dismayed expression marred Logan's face. "They killed over 100 people, Max. Innocent people, _civilians;_ and they took hostages, too. - Now they're making demands…"

"Demands?" Max couldn't follow. Suddenly she remembered something. The note among Alec's things: _Portland Town Hall 10:00 am…  
_It was 10:24 now. A bomb had gone off in the Town Hall, killing people...

"Oh God," she heard Logan say. He sounded devastated. "I _worked_ with them. The S1W and Eyes Only have pretty much become _one._ - I'm basically guilty by association. People will think Eyes Only supports terrorists. My whole reputation is being destroyed by this, Max. Everything I - everything _we'_ve been fighting for they just put in jeopardy! It's..." He shook his head and pinched his nose again. The long building headache had finally decided to split his head.

"Asha said she didn't know, but after what you said, can I - I mean, can _we_ even still trust her?"

"I don't know, Logan," Max whispered quietly.

"They killed innocent people, and I don't even know _why._ Max, we have to do something..."

Max had to process the information. The Portland S1W members had detonated a bomb in the Town Hall. They had killed civilians and were currently holding hostages. - Only eight months ago the S1W had publicly announced that they and the transgenics were fighting the same cause. Max clenched her teeth at the memory. Logan was right. Now the public would think the transgenics were behind this. They - genetical freaks with a military training - would be blamed for what had happened. Before they had joined the S1W, the group had been known as a small guerilla troop fighting for the re-establishment of civil rights, not as a bunch of terrorists on a killing spree...

Was that what Alec had been on to? Had he found out about their inhumane plans, about what had turned them into terrorists? Had they tried to kill him because he had been about to expose them? There _had_ to be some connection between the two things, it was too much of a coincidence that all these things were happening at the same time: Alec being in Portland, getting captured and shot, while not a day later the Town Hall went up in flames and smoke.

He must have somehow found out about their plans and tried to stop them.

Max's head spun.

Or had he been supposed to be part of the attack, part of an S1W assignment that had obviously been meant to kill people? No, that couldn't be true, could it?

* * *

They were too late.

They had killed the paramedic and the doctor too quickly. When they had snuck their way into the hospital they had immediately terminated everyone who had treated or even merely seen him. They had left no witnesses. Now it was too late to ask questions.

But the room he was supposed to be in was deserted. It was only a few minutes past 10:00, but he was already gone. On entering the room, their gazes had instantly fallen on the rumpled sheets and wandered to the abandoned IV, until they had caught sight of the most disconcerting detail in the room, an open window. It had only taken them a moment to put two and two together. They had run over to the window in two seconds flat. Staring down from the 5th floor, though, they could only wonder: could he really have managed to jump down from such a height without killing himself, even in his current state?

The smaller of them turned to the bed again, unconsciously clenching his hands into tight fists. They had lost him. She would not be pleased.

Then his gaze fell on the abandoned hospital gown. Slowly taking it up with one gloved hand, he immediately noticed the blood staining its front, positioned right where the shot wound would have been.

Even if the toxin wasn't working as well as it should, at least it kept 494's wound from closing up as quickly and as nicely as it normally would have done.

There was still hope for them to catch him as long as his body was still weak...


	11. 11

Alec had to find Max. But where? She could be anywhere, really. Josh had been no help, he hadn't known anything about Max's whereabouts, or what she was up to. Going by what she normally did, though, she was on the way to immersing herself way too deeply in the mess he had created, without backup or support. Max only trusted Max after all. And he was still only minutes away from the hospital with no exact idea of where to go looking for her. Come on, soldier, think, he ordered himself just as another wave of pain coursed through him.

Stopping to allow himself to rest for a moment, he noticed a woman throwing him a furtive look before hurrying past. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. So much for all his efforts to try and look inconspicuous. He guessed the six foot tall dude in a too big hoodie that was accompanying him probably didn't make things any better. But Josh had insisted, and Alec had been too tired and woozy to keep him from coming.

All his energy had gone into trying hard not to draw any attention to himself. He was walking at a normal pace, not letting it show too much that he needed to rest every few minutes. He had tried to cover the slowly growing stain on his shirt front with the jacket that Joshua had given him. Still he got the feeling that passersby looked at him curiously. Luckily, Portland wasn't exactly a small town. People mostly decided to mind their own business and thus Alec was pretty much left alone.

That was something, at least. He should be grateful for small favors, like the big guy slipping an arm around him to steady him without commenting on it. Or the fact that Josh was helping him without asking for any form of explanation. He wasn't even bitching about Alec having messed up yet again. Now, if only he knew where to find Max and he'd consider himself lucky.

Admittedly, he was a little peeved that she had left him behind in the hospital without telling anyone where she was going. Okay, he had left her in TC without telling her why, but that was different... He risked a furtive sideways glance at his companion and was glad that Joshua couldn't read his thoughts.

"Medium fella need to rest?" the big guy suddenly asked, and Alec openly stared at him. "Um...," he made, "Naw, I'm peachy. Let's do this..." He grinned up at the taller man and patted his bandaged side lightly. "The bullet's out, right? I'm fine."

"Alec can make Alec believe that, not Joshua," was all he got in reply, that, and a snort. He thought it better not to say any more.

Suddenly, something clicked in his brain. He patted his side yet again; his things, the note... They were gone. Max, he thought and had to smile. Sneaky little Maxie, she had taken his stuff. That, though, gave him an idea of where to go looking for her. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? It was the most obvious place after all.

He should get a move on if he wanted to catch up with her. But his friggin' lame walking attempts were slowly yet progressively taking their toll on him. He had begun to feel annoyingly woozy again. But this was no time for weakness. Finding Max was all that counted. After all, it was he who had put her in danger with his idiotic call for help. So he better did everything to get her out of it before she got completely entangled in his mess.

If anything happened to her, he had only himself to blame. He better prayed that what little strength he still had wouldn't leave him before he'd reached her.

* * *

No, Max thought, Alec could never be involved in something as atrocious as what had happened at the Town Hall. He couldn't be a terrorist, not after Manticore had been burned down, not after he had experienced freedom and what it meant to follow your own free will. No, Alec would never willingly take part in the killing of innocent people.

"Logan," she began, pulling herself together. "Did Asha say anything else? I mean, it can't be coincidence that Alec should wind up shot in Portland when something like this is going down not even six hours later..."

"Goddammit," Logan raised his arms in a helpless gesture, smiling an upset smile. "You're right. I know. Alec must be involved somehow. I don't know how, but... Listen, I need to contact some of my sources. I should contact Clemente, too, ask him to run some investigations for us, maybe even investigate the Seattle cell. - In fact, it's probably the smartest thing if we checked on all other cells, see whether what's going on here is just a local thing or something bigger." Already he had transformed back into complete _Eyes Only_ mode. He had shaken off his initial shocked paralysis and was now taking matters into his hands again. Max was relieved to see him man up again, because she needed him to be strong and focused. She couldn't take care of both him and Alec at the same time. Taking care of Alec's business alone was quite enough, as it was.

"Logan…" Max took a step toward him, but he motioned for her to stay back. "I — I'm sorry, Max. - You should go back and talk to Alec. Find out what he knows, whether things are related. - And Max: keep your cell close, okay? I don't know what's happening out here, but if we need to leave in a hurry, I want to be able to call you. This is not our town, this is not Seattle. We don't really know anyone out here, there's no one to back us up." He stared at her, then pressed both heels of his hands into his eye sockets, making his distress even more palpable to her as she watched him. A part of her wanted to reach out and hug him, but she forced herself to stay back.

There had been a time when she had been able to comfort him with a hug, when she, too, had been comforted by being close to him. In the past his mere presence had sometimes made her feel like even for her a normal happy life was possible. Things had changed, though, and not only because of the virus.

"Alright," she finally said, "I'll tell Josh to call Mole, too. I know the old lizard was the first to go to ground and vanish, but as far as I know he still keeps in touch with a lot of us... He might be able to help. Can't hurt to bring some Manticore expertise in..."

"You know what she said?" Logan suddenly said, a non-sequitur that startled her. He locked his gaze with hers, his unwavering stare making her feel strangely queasy.

"What?"

"Asha," he said, "She said something weird. She wants us to meet her at the Town Hall."

Max was about to get really annoyed about the fact that Logan told her such an important part of his phone conversation so casually as if it was not important at all. Asha had said she wanted to meet them - and it took Logan forever to mention that? But right when she wanted to complain about it, Logan said, "She said she'd bring Rex, the paramedic..." And all that she could think of as a reply was,

"Ray. The paramedic's name is Ray..."

"I know!" Logan exclaimed like she had just said something incredibly smart. Bewildered, she could only frown at him. "Listen. I… I have to go and meet with Asha at the Town Hall, but I don't think you should come. I think she might have been trying to warn me. Something's wrong. I have to see it for myself. I have to look her in the eyes and see whether she is still one of us or not, whether she can be trusted."

"And if not?"

"Well..." Logan looked unsure. "Let me worry about that. You just go and work your transgenic magic with Alec, and if you hear anything, if you find out anything, let me know. Okay? - I'll need you to help me figure this out, Max. But I don't want you to take unnecessary risks. - Something makes me doubt that the S1W will be very forthcoming about disclosing their real agenda anytime soon if they can prevent it. It's probably best if you go back to the hospital and get Alec. Try and get some more details out of him, about what really happened. I'll let you know how things with Asha are going. - I'll call you when it's safe for you to come out there, too. And Max..."

Logan looked at her with disillusionment written all over his face. She couldn't help but grab his hand and squeeze it briefly. They exchanged a glance then, feeling strangely awkward, and let go of each other's hands almost simultaneously.

"Alright," Max mumbled without acknowledging the awkwardness. "Guess the apartment can wait," she said, belatedly realizing that Logan probably didn't even know what she was talking about.

"The apartment?"

"Alec tried to tell me something. Earlier, in the rescue van..."

Logan seemed to think this over. Then he said, "If it was so important to him, Max, you should probably go there first. If he hid something there, someone might already be on the way to get it. Call him - call Joshua, go to the apartment. We need every piece of information we can get. We don't know how big this is gonna be. But going by the looks of it so far..."

He didn't need to tell her any more. She knew he was right. She'd call Josh and make him get the info out of Alec. She'd retrieve whatever it was that Alec had stored in his place and then go back and get _him._

He would be safest at the hospital, anyway...

Suddenly Logan reached out and cupped her face with his gloved hands. She almost stumbled backward in surprise. Strangely, there was no love in the look he gave her, just fondness. Heartfelt fondness, but still… As that sudden realization hit her, she already knew that that infinitesimal difference meant all the world.

"Take care of yourself, Max."

"You too, Logan."

With one last look at him, she turned around and ran off into the general direction of where Alec's flat had to be situated, cell phone already pressed to her ear, waiting for Josh to pick up.

* * *

Sitting on the couch, the hand still holding the receiver lying in her lap as if lifeless, Asha eventually looked up to where Fawn stood looming over her, scrutinizing her.

Raising her chin, the tall brunette eventually turned around to face the man kneeling behind her, eyes set on a screen positioned on the low table. "Cole?" she queried, making the man look up from his work, eyes gleaming with the light coming off of the screen.

"We got him, Ma'am. Tracked him."

"You know what to do?"

"Yes, Ma'am.—I'll tell my men to take care of it."

Asha sat there, motionless. She eyed the others without taking part in their little exchange. "Good," she heard Fawn say and stared up at her again. She was smiling at her briefly, no real emotion evident in the expression.

She had made that call without complaint. Because she knew that the brunette had been serious when she had threatened to expose and kill _Eyes Only_ if Asha didn't help them catch him alive. She had promised not to harm Logan. The one she really wanted was Alec, and _Eyes Only_ - by way of Max - would help her get him...

Somehow she had simply known just what to say to make Asha do as she was told.

But now that she saw that guy Cole and his comrade checking their guns, she wasn't so sure anymore that what she had done was the right thing. Would these men really stop at taking Logan and Max alive? Wouldn't Logan put up a fight? Max surely would. If she got hurt, or worse, Logan would never forgive her. It had always been all about Max and her little circle of transgenic friends; never about Asha. She sighed. If only she could be certain that Logan had understood her little warning...

"Let's go," Fawn's command jolted her out of her thoughts. She shoved the muzzle of a gun into Asha's ribs.

Asha got up and faced Fawn. For a moment she considered fighting the taller one, but there was something about her eyes...

"Are you really not gonna hurt him?"

Fawn smiled her cold smile but didn't answer the question. Asha bit her lip. "The attack, the bombing... why?" she wanted to know, "Please, Fawn, why did you do it? The S1W was never about-"

A sudden laugh made her stop. Fawn looked openly amused. "You really think this got anything to do with the S1W, blondie? The S1W is nothing but a vehicle, girl, nothing but a means to an end. Now let's go. I can't wait to meet your friends again." She looked hard at Asha once more, then made her walk out the door.

Asha felt her skin prickle uncomfortably. What had she done?

* * *

_... hm... anyone else think it's time for Max and Alec to join forces already?_


	12. 12

_Alec, Max? If you guys don't get a move on and MEET UP already, I know one or two people are gonna be REALLY annoyed with you - and one of them is most definitely ME!_

* * *

When he first heard that ringing sound Alec thought his body was giving out and the ringing just inside his ears. But when he grabbed the big fella's arm and motioned for him to stop, he suddenly noticed him taking a comically huge mobile phone out of his pocket. The big guy actually sniffed at the device before he finally pressed a button and said,

"Hello! Hello?"

The ringing didn't stop. Alec almost laughed. Joshua had a cell phone? "Dude, where did you get that? Here we're trying to find Max when all this time we could have just _called_ her?" he asked incredulously. Joshua looked at him guiltily as he tried to press another one of the buttons of the cell. Alec shook his head in disbelief, then stretched out a hand to turn the phone around for his friend. "You'll wanna talk into this side, big guy. That one is for listening," he explained.

"Logan's phone. Logan gave Joshua cell - cell phone for emergencies."

Alec nodded, then pressed the Answer-button for his friend. "Try it now," he said.

He didn't need genetically enhanced hearing to understand everything the person on the other end said. The voice was so loud that every word was clearly discernible even from where he stood.

_"Geez, Joshua!"_ Max said, sounding somewhere between worried and annoyed. _"What the hell is going on? Why did it take you so long to pick up?"_ she called out angrily, much to Joshua's bemusement.

"Sorry, li'l fella. Joshua and phone not friends yet."

_"Oh; 's alright, big fella. Logan should have given you a better one..."_ 'A simpler one,' she meant to say, but kept that thought to herself. At least he did have a phone... _"Anyways. So you guys are alright? - Did you hear about the attack?"_

"The attack?"

Alec tensed as he heard that. There had been an attack? "Gimme the phone, Josh," he ordered, instantly transitioning back into soldier mode. Knowing Alec enough to not be offended by his tone, Joshua handed it over without complaint.

"Max. Where'd it happen? You alright?"

_"Alec!"_ she sounded surprised. And now that he held the phone this close to his ear, she also sounded like she was running. _"Listen,"_ she said, _"The S1W bombed the Town Hall. They have a hostage situation down there. Logan's already on his way. He's meeting Asha there, but we're not sure we can trust anyone from the S1W anymore, not after what they did to you, not after this... So stay the hell away from them, you hear me?"_

"Copy that. - Max."

_"Alec, this has to have something to do with you getting shot, and I wanna know_ what._ I'm on the way to your apartment right now - I know it's not too far from the hospital, but I need the exact address. - You mentioned something earlier; did you stash something away there? Something that could-"_

"Hold on, Max!"

_"-help us out? Background info-"_

"Max! Listen!" When he finally had her full attention, he gave her the address, then went on to tell her what he had meant to earlier, "It's documents. Files. I wanted you to go and get them when I thought I couldn't do so myself. They could be crucial if we want to stop this..."

_"Stop this?"_ Max asked, but he ignored it. There was no time for lengthy explanations, especially not on the phone.

"If they're still there, they're with the Tryptophan," he told her and hoped she remembered where he had used to keep it back in his old place in TC. Thankfully, she didn't ask him more about the content of those files. Even if she hadn't had as much military training as him, she wasn't stupid. And he was sure that her "training on the streets" was on some level much more profound than his Manticore one could ever have been.

_"The Tryp-"_

"Yeah, Max. I'm on my way - we're gonna meet you there in ten."

_"Roger that."_

Joshua wanted to say something then, but Alec shook his head. Max didn't know that he hadn't yet recovered as fully as a transgenic like him should have done by now and he sure as hell wasn't gonna allow Joshua to clue her in on that fact. Nope, definitely not.

_"The file..."_

Okay, maybe he had been a little quick in assuming she'd let it go so easily.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Maxie, remember?"

_"Alec! This is-"_

"Serious business, I know. Sorry Max, I promise we'l talk about it as soon as we get there." He heard her huff. He could picture the accompanying pout all too well and had to smile at the image in his brain. "Now try and stay under the radar," he eventually said, "Don't do anything stupid -"

_"You're telling ME that?"_

"I know you, Maxie. You tend to overdo the 'lone soldier who can't trust anyone but themselves' thing..."

Before Max had a chance to retort, Joshua suddenly managed to wrestle the phone out of a startled Alec's hand and said, "Max to meet us _here." _Alec tried to win possession of the phone back, but even though he might be an X5, Joshua was still Joshua - he was too tall, too strong.

"Josh, what-?" he protested, but to no avail.

"Alec not alright. Alec to rest. Will wait with Joshua at," he turned around, scanning the surroundings, then talked to Max again, holding the phone awkwardly in front of him, not to his ear, "At dumpsters behind 'Pulse City Cafe'. Max be safe now and hurry."

With that, he hung up the phone, hitting the right button on his first try. Great, Alec thought, and glowered at him. The big fella only shrugged. Then, as if to show him it had been the right decision, he wrapped an arm around his friend again and helped him walk over to the other side of the street.

"The dumpsters, Josh? Really? But my place is only ten minutes from here, tops. And it smells so much nicer, like you wouldn't believe..." Alec tried again, but he knew that Joshua could see right through him, could see that he was only whining because what Max had said worried him and he tried to mask that worry.

They had started it. They had really started it...

* * *

The apartment lay in total darkness when Max reached it, not two minutes after she had gotten off the phone with Alec and Joshua. Of course darkness didn't necessarily mean someone else hadn't already searched the place, someone who might still be there, because, Max pondered, you didn't actually need artificial light to search for someone or something now that daylight had completely replaced the haziness of dawn.

Max stood and waited in the shade in front of the apartment complex, a dark silhouette against the walls. For a full five minutes, she scanned the area and tried to see whether anything was moving, whether anything looked conspicuous. When she was sure that no obvious threats were lurking in the corners, she blurred over and into the building, up the stairs until she stood in front of a dark green door. It didn't take her long to pry it open.

As quiet as a cat, Max stepped into the half-darkness of the flat. A part of her doubted she would find anything here. If these people had gone to all this trouble, had shot and captured Alec, they had to have gone looking for those documents. They had to have found them.

Thinking about Alec made her knees feel weirdly wobbly; the memories of all the blood, his blue tinged skin, that lost look on his face… Suddenly she remembered the lonely boy she had seen in him all those months past when first he had entered her life displaying the cocky, careless attitude of an arrogant jerk. And she had believed his show, though only for so long...

Unfortunately, all that was left of those bygone days was a peculiar sense of forlornness, of regret. Why had she never tried to confront him when first he stole his way into, then out of her life? Why had she let him escape, let him hurt her so much? And why did he still hold so much power over her that all she could think of now was Alec, X5 494? How had he gotten to her so much?

All the blood, the light tingling feeling of his breath on her face, the touch of her lips on his forehead...

She forced herself to focus back on the apartment. The place looked barer than she had imagined it. It didn't allow much room for hiding things. Then again, this was Alec's apartment. He would find room to hide stuff practically anywhere. Even here. Plus, she knew where to look.

She hadn't gotten much farther than into the kitchen when suddenly she heard a creaking sound somewhere to her left, coming from the entrance. Max shrank against the fridge, trying to make herself as invisible as possible.

* * *

In the end, Alec couldn't just sit and wait for Max behind some reeking dumpster. Even though Joshua had tried to persuade Alec to stay and wait for Max to come and get them, Alec simply couldn't do it. He knew his body needed the rest. But he also knew that Max was in danger. The goings-on he had come here to investigate and to put a stop to if necessary were finally under way. They had started it all... A week early...

Soon everything might be out in the open, everything might be too late. He needed to stop this now, he needed to stop _her._

If anything, he at least had to make sure Max was okay. So he had continued his walk all the way to his apartment, an anxious Joshua at his side. He felt close to passing out when they finally got there. But there was no more time for resting, so he opened the door as quietly as possible and let them both in.

Suddenly a huge shadow crept across the walls.

Max had only gotten so far in her musings about what to do should the newly arrived presence honestly attack her, when all too suddenly the light in the kitchen was turned on, killing even the too small shadow she had been hiding in. As the light revealed her to the newcomer, all she could see was the black silhouette of a tall and brutish looking man standing only a few feet away from her, his form in stark contrast to the blinding lights. Max couldn't help but grin stupidly at finding herself stuck in such a ridiculously standard situation. Her instincts kicked in then and she blurred forward, arms raised to cover herself and to lash out at the shadow.

Right then, though, the stranger raised a gun, so quickly Max wasn't sure she had actually seen him do it. Before she got a chance to blur, he aimed it at her and shot. She heard a numbing, ear-splitting sound before she even saw the man move to shoot.

The following second stretched on way too long, until she heard the stranger call her name in a voice that sounded all too much like Alec's.

"Max!" he said as her knees gave way and the ground rose to meet her. In a whirl of air, she felt something weigh her down, force her to the ground. She heard him call her name again, like a whisper this time. "Max…"

Then, her eyes, dark and wide, finally found his. Her fingers clenched his shirt.

"Alec?"

* * *

_Uh oh, that's not the way you were supposed to meet again, guys...  
_


	13. black pools

Everything happened in a blur. The shot, its echo, the fall, someone else's weight crashing down on her, and then… Alec's flushed face appeared right over her as he hoisted the dead weight off of her.

It was the lifeless body of a heavy-built man in a black combat suit. She had never seen him before. With awkward fascination Max hefted her gaze onto the hole that had appeared in the man's throat and which was spurting unimaginable amounts of blood. That echo she had heard, it must have been a second shot. Her eyes wandered away from all the blood and to the gun that dangled from Alec's grasp. He had shot that man, and not a second too late. Her brain was still a little sluggish or she would have been more annoyed by the fact that he'd surely boast about having saved her for days to come.

She was about to slowly get up and testing her arms first, she flinched when she felt pain shoot from her shoulder all the way down into her fingers. Before she could so much as get out an "ouch," Alec suddenly bent down to touch her brow and his worried voice penetrated the eerie silence that had followed the shot.

"Oh crap, Max! Did he hit you? Are you-" He knelt down right next to her. His hand flew briefly to the tender area at his side before he moved to gently pat her down, searching for a source for all the blood that was soaking her clothes. "Max…"

It took her a moment before her mind caught up with the situation. There was no real pain, just a dull pulsing in her shoulder. The shot that had been aimed to kill had gone astray and lodged itself in her shoulder instead of her heart. She had Alec to thank for that.

Staring up into his face, Max couldn't _not_ frown. Her bewilderment evident, she eventually raised a hand to touch his cheek. She couldn't believe what she saw. He was here, with her. She tried to get up, but Alec stopped her.

"Easy, Max," he said.

"I'm okay. It's just the shoulder," she muttered as she rose into a sitting position. Delicately, she felt the tender flesh and flinched. Great, this would slow her down unnecessarily all because she hadn't been fast enough to get out of the shooter's way. At least she wasn't bleeding too badly, she figured, just as it finally registered with her that Alec and Joshua had been supposed to wait for her at that Café. They were not even supposed to be here. Frowning at her fellow X5 she asked, "What the hell are you even doing here? How did you get here so fast? You were supposed to wait with Josh-"

"You're welcome, Max! My pleasure saving you and shooting the guy who was about to kill you only a minute ago." In his tone she heard both amusement and annoyance. But he masked the latter pretty well. He smirked at her and gently peeled her jacket off her shoulder to inspect the damage. "Guess you're right: you'll live."

"Thanks for the confirmation, Alec. I'm so relieved now. You know, I wouldn't be in this situation if I hadn't answered your call earlier," she said, poking his chest with her finger. She couldn't help the snarky remark escaping her unchecked. Though she tried not to look at him, she did notice an odd expression on his face. He looked slightly... upset?

"Alec and li'l fella alright?" Joshua stood a little off to the side, in the darkness of the hallway. Max hadn't even seen him before. Somewhere in the back of her mind she started wondering whether she was turning too soft: for someone who had been bred specifically for the purpose of being a soldier she was doing a bad job at it lately.

"Blood all over Max," Joshua continued, sniffing the air, "Max's blood. Joshua can smell cat, different cat than Alec... "

Slowly, Alec got up and placed a hand on Joshua's broad chest to stop him from bending down to inspect Max's injury. "Oh yeah? If your nose is so great, big fella, it should also tell you that it's mostly the other dude's blood." He nodded over to where the body of the stranger lay. Joshua frowned. "Hey, could you grab a towel from the bathroom?" Alec asked to distract his friend from the disturbing sight. "It's the first door on the left. We gotta patch Max up after all, clean her up some, make her a little more presentable."

She rolled her eyes, "Just give me that towel and I'll clean myself up. Maybe I could borrow a shirt, though, seeing as I had to use the other one to patch _you_ up earlier - and now my jacket is a mess too..." she shot Alec a meaningful glance and he smirked at her.

"Max really alright?" Joshua wanted to know when he finally brought her the towel. She smiled at him. "No worries, big fella." Joshua looked skeptical, but when he sniffed the air some more, his nose seemed to come to the conclusion that she and Alec had been telling the truth. It was mostly the other man's blood.

"Come on now, let's get that bullet out," Alec announced. Before she could so much as protest, he had already knelt down again and with a swift movement extracted the metal, making her gasp. "Ouch! What the hell, Alec?"

He grinned apologetically. "Sorry, Max, but I don't think there'll be time for us to make a detour to the hospital - I say we better get the files now and get the hell outta here. There's bound to be more where this guy came from, and I don't know about you guys, but I really don't wanna throw 'em a welcome party. Come on, sweetpea, let's get you a clean shirt and go."

With a smirk on his face he got up again, though Max noticed that his movements had become a little less smooth, a little less quick. She was still debating with herself whether she should comment on it, when she saw him steady himself against the wall while he made his way to the door of his bedroom to get her - and himself - some clean shirts.

"Alec?"

He raised a hand and smiled. "Geez, these assholes really did a number on me," he muttered, barely noticing it when Max appeared at his side. He smiled at her weakly, making her shiver involuntarily. "I'm good. Just a little bit of something unwanted coursing through my veins it seems. Clever bastards. - At least I still got to save the girl."

"Yeah, right, my knight in shining armor." Max put her arms around a reluctant Alec, but he was too drowsy to fight her much. Damn those bastards, what had they given him that made him feel so out of it? "Come on, smart-ass. Let's sit you down and then I want you to stop the act already and talk!" Max ordered. "No more stalling, you hear me?" She glared at him, but her worry about him was so evident that the effect of her anger got lost and he merely grinned at her some more.

"Alright," he finally said as he allowed her to help him sit down on the ground. She was right, it _was_ time he finally began to tell her what he knew and so he did.

* * *

_Five months earlier..._

Rommie was staring at Alec expectantly. He looked at her, searching her face for something to tell him whether he could still trust her.

Three months ago, when he had first set foot in her office and told her about his suspicion that the S1W had been infiltrated, she had believed him. She hadn't contacted the Seattle cell to try and confirm what he had told her. Instead, she had taken him at his word and had developed a plan with him to take care of things before the infiltrators could take over the whole group. She had proved to him that she did indeed deserve his trust, hadn't she?

He had just decided he'd tell her everything he knew when he noticed her pupils widen then narrow in a most curious fashion. There was no source of light that could have caused the reaction, a reaction he had only ever seen before in people that had been subject to PsyOps hypnosis...

"I'm not sure," he slowly said, keeping his gaze locked on her, observing her tiniest movements.

"Yo, Roms," Greg suddenly interjected. "You saying that bitch ain't even real S1W? Like, seriously? Sheesh, man. That's fucked up. We should - I don't know, man, shouldn't we, like, lock her up and question her or something? I mean, bombs, that's some serious shit right there..."

He didn't get much further than that when Alec heard a shot coming from the left and saw his comrade fall to the ground beside him, a stunned look of surprise on his face."

Alec had to react fast and he did. With a swift movement, he got out his own weapon and shot another round into Greg's dead body for good measure. He closed his eyes briefly, grateful for the fact that the guy had been dead already. "Too bad, the kid wasn't half bad. Wrong time, wrong place, I guess," he said as he pocketed his gun again and looked at Rommie with an unwavering stare.

"Indeed," she agreed. With a curt nod in his direction, she sat down at her desk, taking up a file that he had not seen there before. He recognized the standard dark folder with its golden imprint at the front instantly, though. He would know that seal anywhere.

"Good to know that we're on the same side," he tried not to look too hard at the file, "I wasn't sure, back when I first got here..."

"Neither was I. It's a good thing we now know where our loyalties lie, then."

"Yes," he improvised, "It's time we finally got this under way." His eyes were shuttered as she scrutinized him. But deep down he wondered whether she could see right through him and his mouth went dry.

"Things have been under way for quite some time already, 494..."

* * *

_[The present]_

With a glance at Alec's face, Max noticed that a sick pallor had replaced the previous flush. Lightly, she cupped his cheek. She whispered his name, forcing him to look at her. She had made him sit down before his knees could give way, before he passed out. All the worry from the previous night was suddenly back again as he finally started to talk.

"Sorry I messed up, Max. I guess the whole series is flawed. Manticore should have seen it coming and terminated all of us when they had the chance. After Ben, I mean," he muttered. It gave her a pang to hear him talk like that.

"Manticore doesn't know anything about what's a flaw and what isn't, Alec. You should know that."

"Right. Yeah, well... I mean, they're trying to right their wrongs now, I guess."

Max looked at him in bewilderment. Manticore was about to right their wrongs? Was he delirious again? Or was she? - Rubbing her sore shoulder, she tried to ignore the odd feeling that had started to spread from the shot wound, but part of her already wondered whether the bullet Alec had extracted might have been poisoned just like the one that had injured him not even 24 hours earlier.

"They gave me something, Max." Alec's voice had lost a lot of its snarky alive quality again. She didn't like that at all. "That bullet - I think it might be something like that virus. You know, what they gave you to get rid of roller boy Logan? Though this feels... It's eating me from the inside, Max... It's..."

"Alec, focus!" she ordered. "What did they give you?" His hollow stare frightened her, but she tried to ignore it. One of them had to stay focused and in control. Clearly it wasn't Alec and just as clearly it wasn't gonna be Joshua who was nervously pacing the apartment until Max told him to go and get a glass of milk for Alec, just to keep the big guy occupied.

"Come on, Alec. What is-"

"I didn't mean to leave TC, you know? Honestly. But then I saw her, and - I _knew_ I had seen her before. I knew it. And I couldn't let her go without first... I just thought it was weird how she didn't admit to anyone that she was Manticore and so I thought it best to dig a little deeper. I mean, did _you_ honestly think things were over when Manticore burned down, Max?" he asked her. His hand had clenched painfully around her wrist, but he was looking the slightest bit better already. Or maybe she imagined it.

Just then, Joshua returned with the milk and she made Alec drink some. He didn't even try to protest.

"Don't worry, whatever it is, I think it's finally leaving my system, or I'm getting used to it or whatever. Someone must have messed up. I'm pretty sure they didn't want me to survive this," he chuckled, which soon turned into a cough. She put a hand on his chest, the simple gesture enough to quiet him. "Aw, come on, Max. Why so serious? There's always time for a little fun and joking, no?" He smiled. Of course she only acknowledged his stupid remark with a glare. He rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. No more joking."

"Who were you talking about?"

"What?"

"The one you had seen before?"

"Oh, her. - _Fawn_ of course. You ever met her? Prior to her turning up as one of the S1W I mean? Tall chick? Brunette? She has those weird pools for eyes that make you go all... you know, that thing all those PsyOps guys got going for them... Like Mia and what's his name, that dude with the... geez, I can never remember anything about him."

"Brain."

"That's him, right. - I don't even know what he looked like anymore, except for his eyes... they were just like hers... Could see right through you and all..."

"Alec," she jolted him out of his musings again. "I don't remember anyone named Fawn..."

"Course not. Didn't you listen? She's PsyOps, Max... Anyways. I followed her. I mean, when Asha told us that some of her folks were joining other cells and that Fawn was one of them, I knew I had to follow her, find out what was going on. I'm not even sure why I did that. I just got that odd feeling... The next thing I know is I'm part of the S1W, playing my role as an Ordinary, always staying close enough to observe. - Gotta admit, though, I never expected it to be so big. I thought maybe she was trying to do her little thing. Or that she just wanted to blend in and stuff. You know how it is. When people know who you are, what you are, they tend to be hostile. I thought maybe she just wanted her chance at a normal life. Like you did, you know? Back in the day when you still thought Logie-boy would turn you into an honest respectable lady?" he chuckled again and Max had to restrain herself from slapping him. She bit her lip. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that his comment had gotten to her.

After a minute of silence, Alec suddenly looked at her again, all humor gone from his features. "Manticore is back, Max. Fawn - that Town Hall bombing? You're right, it's part of this. But it was only the beginning. They're trying to take over the government in the first couple of cities. Soon it's gonna be the state's government, and then... We have to stop them, Max. We have to stop them before it's too late."

Max wasn't sure she had heard him correctly. Manticore? Back?

That couldn't be true...


	14. 14

_Since I'll be gone for the weekend I wanted to at least give you an update before that. It might need some editing - I was a little short on time... Let me know how bad it is. Thanks everyone for reading!_

* * *

_Four months earlier..._

Alec was pacing up and down in front of the little public phone, daring it to ring. He had nearly accepted the fact that it wouldn't when suddenly he heard it chirp to life. "Thanks, Joshua," he whispered to no one, closing his eyes for a moment. The big fella was a true friend...

_"So what's this I hear from our mutual friend, Princess?"_ an all too familiar voice asked once Alec had picked up the receiver.

"Well, if it ain't my favoritest Scaly-Man in the whole wide world..." Alec sounded cheerier than he felt but quickly continued more seriously, "Listen, man, there's some serious shit going on here. Have you heard from any of the old bunch lately?" He was careful not to use the name Manticore, or even TC, for he couldn't be sure whether anyone was listening in.

_"What do you mean?"_ it mumbled on the other end and Alec pictured his friend chewing one of his cigars.

"Can't really talk right now. Is there a chance we could meet?"

_"Why don't you move your skinny ass over to Josh's place?"_

"Can't, man. It's gotta be somewhere in Portland or not at all." He heard Mole harrumph on the other side, clearly not happy with what Alec had just said. But the lizard was smart enough to know Alec wouldn't say so for no reason and soon he conceded to meeting him at a place not too far from Alec's place.

_"You're just worried Max will kick your ass if you come back here, isn't that so?"_ Mole actually chuckled before he turned serious again. _"Alright. I'll meet you tomorrow. This better be good, Princess..."_

"Well, 'good' isn't exactly the word I'd use, but yeah. You might wanna bring, you know..."

_"Got it, I'l bring some cigars to share."_

Mole hung up without a goodbye. Alec turned around and faced the street. Looking up and down it, he couldn't see anyone, or anything. Not on the street, not in the houses. Only once he had made sure he was still alone, did he dare walk away again.

* * *

_[The present]_

It took Logan a whole hour to get to the Town Hall. Normally, it should have taken him 10 minutes at the most, but with the streets crowded with people, with fire fighters and police, his progress had been so slow that he had considered leaving his car somewhere.

But that hadn't really been an option. They needed it to get back to Seattle. And cars weren't exactly easy to get by, especially in a foreign city where he didn't have any noteworthy connections.

He saw Asha before he had even exited the car. She stood alone, a little to the side of the main action. She had her back to the Town Hall that was still emitting black smoke from its east wing. Logan got out and headed her way, scanning the area while he was walking. Everyone could be the enemy.

Something didn't feel right.

Just as Asha noticed him, his cell phone started ringing. For a moment he was too preoccupied with the sudden change in Asha's expression - in her whole posture, even - to pay much attention to the urgent voice on the other end. Max.

"Yeah, Max?" He said as he resumed walking, waving to Asha. She seemed to be saying something, shouting. He gestured to her that he couldn't hear her, when Max said, _"Logan. Manticore is involved in this."_ Max clearly wasn't someone to talk around things, especially not something as important as that little piece of information. Logan almost stumbled, causing his exo-skeleton to whir in protest. _"I know this sounds crazy, Logan, but they're using the S1W as a means to get what they want without making it obvious who they are..."_

"What?"

_"Be careful Logan. If Asha-"_ He didn't even hear the rest because right then he could finally make out what Asha had apparently been shouting all along.

"Go Logan! This is a trap! Go! Manticore is behind all this! Man-" An explosion of a gunshot tore the last word out of her mouth and she fell. Logan's brain was stuttering. He wanted to run and get to Asha, he wanted to see whether his friend was okay. He had forgotten that he was still holding the phone to his ear, when he heard Max talk to him. "Get the hell outta there, Logan. Now!"

"Oh my god, I think Asha got-"

_"Now!"_ Max gave him an address, and part of him was surprised that he was able to memorize it. There was way too much mention of Manticore...

And Asha had been shot.

Logan stared over to where he saw her blood seep out onto the street. He stared, fighting the urge to run and get to her, just as a tall dark woman stepped from the group of people that had formed around the Town Hall. She was looking directly at him.

To his surprise, he heard Asha shout at him again, "Run! Logan! Please..."

The tall woman raised a gun and shot. Asha... That's when his sense kicked back in and he started running back to his car. He needed to get away from here. Now.

* * *

Logan reached the address Max had given him quicker than he had thought possible. But it seemed that the streets leading away from the Town Hall were not as popular right now and the driving had been smooth. No one had followed him either, or not as far as he could tell.

He noticed his hands were shaking and the exo-skeleton had started to hum so loudly that it was only a matter of time till it would stop working if he kept running around like a madman all day. He forced himself to walk up to the apartment slowly, even though he felt the urge to run - as if someone was right behind him, chasing him.

That was the only thought he had even when he opened the door quickly, forgetting to be cautious, forgetting that there were trained soldiers - transgenics - waiting inside.

He remembered it instantly when all of a sudden he felt the cold metal of a gun pressed to his temple. "It's me! It's me!" was all he managed to say as his gaze locked on Alec's. "It's me..."

But Alec only looked at him with a cold stare.

* * *

The atmosphere felt loaded, stifling. Not a minute ago, Max had sat on the ground with Alec, had listened to him talk when they had heard someone at the door. She had signed to him and Joshua on the other side of the room to keep quiet and wait. But suddenly, Alec had jumped up, startling her, and the next second she had seen him press a gun to the head that had appeared at the door.

As if to counter the tension in the room, Max had slipped into a curious calm. She was only aware of the little universe enclosing the four of them, Logan, Alec standing right next to her, Joshua somewhere on the periphery, and she. She rested her right hand against the smooth skin of Alec's cheek as she lowered the other down to cover his hand, to cover the gun. Briefly, she saw confusion flit across his face once their fingers touched over the steel. Gently, she moved forward, her mouth nearly touching his when she whispered, "It's okay now." She looked at his lips, only then noticing his somewhat forced breathing before her gaze traveled farther up, to his eyes, and she tightened her grip around his hand, around the weapon. "Alec."

He blinked once, twice, his confusion visibly deepening. "But…,"his sentence fell short of being completed as he wiped an arm across his forehead in a subconscious movement which gave away his agitation. That toxin was really messing with him, it seemed.

"You can let go now," Max told him, meaning the gun.

"Careful, Max! Look at him, he's obviously—"

"I got this, Logan." She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them to Alec's piercing, feverish stare.

* * *

Alec felt the curious sensation of coldness seeping into his palm just as warmth seemed to permeate into it from above where he felt Max's skin touch his. Frowning, he ordered his mind to cooperate, but his thoughts were sluggish at best and the pain flaring up in his side didn't exactly help speeding up the process either. Finally, though, it all seemed to register with him. He was holding Logan at gun-point. Logan was their friend. Max wanted him to stop.

Wrapping a hand around his waist, Max tried to steady him and he couldn't help but look at her curiously.

"Why don't we sit down again, Alec? Come on."

"Nah... I'm good."

"You look _awful._ And I can't carry you if you decide to pass out on me, okay?" she stated soberly, which earned her a laugh. "No?" he queried as she glared at him. "What happened to super tough Max the kickass transgenic..." His voice trailed off as his body made a decision for him and he felt his knees grow weak. "Right, she got shot too... Okay, I'll sit down for a little while, I just need a moment..."

Max tried to slow his downward movement. Strangely, Alec let her do it, staring up at her all the while. Suddenly he noticed Max's Ordinary tower over them, but his mind refused to feel threatened. Logan was an okay kid after all, even though it would have made matters easier if he weren't. It would have made so many things easier.

"Look at you. How the hell did you manage to sneak out of the hospital in this state?"

"Well, I don't know whether you knew this about me," Alec said, smirking, "but I happen to have undergone some serious military training in a special facility for the genetically enhanced..." Blinking against the light coming in from the hallway, he tried to make out the expression on her face but couldn't see much.

"Alec." Her tone spoke volumes. Okay, he thought, not funny; got it. He flinched as a new wave of pain shot through his body when he tried to sit up straighter. Max shushed him, placing two warm hands on his chest. "Stay put, you idiot."

"But Max—"

"Don't argue with me."

"Max_ie_"

"Don't Max-ie me. - Can't you just_ listen _to me? For once?"

He didn't get a chance for a fitting retort when Logan suddenly bent down, saying, "Guys. We better leave. At the Town Hall, before Asha got shot, she said something about a trap. Just like you, she mentioned Manticore - I think the woman that shot her..." his voice faltered at the thought, "She was Manticore, too. - And I don't know whether anyone followed me..."

Alec felt the other's hands grab his arms in a tight grasp. "Come on, man. Help me a little here, okay?" A new wave of dizziness washed over him, enveloped his senses as he found himself being hoisted up off the ground. He came to lean against Logan and warned, "Dude, take your hands off of me." But the Ordinary merely scowled at him and shook his head.

"Seriously, man? - Wow, you're heavy..."

"Logan, I don't think he should be moved," Max chimed in, but was cut off, "Well, Max, it doesn't look like there's gonna be any other way for us to get him out of here. Or am I mistaken?" Logan sounded annoyed. She couldn't really blame him.

"Okay, okay, you're right. Alright, let's go. Just…"

"What?" Logan stared at her, Alec growing heavy against him as both guys waited for her to continue. Eventually, with one last glance over her shoulder she whispered, "Just you mind his injury." She indicated Alec with a covert flick of her wrist, not daring to look Logan in the eyes — or Alec for that matter.

"Yeah," was all Logan managed. One sober affirmative before he slowly continued walking, dragging the drowsy transgenic with him, one arm around his waist, the other around his shoulders. "Come on. Let's get you out of here. — Mind telling me how you managed to persuade Max to help you yet again, after everything you did?" The question sounded so casual, so matter-of-fact that it took Alec a moment to understand what Logan was trying to get at. Once realization hit him, Alec asked, "You sure you wanna know?"

"Am I sure? Hell, I'm not sure of anything—or anyone these days, okay? So…"

"Dude, chill. I wasn't trying to…," Alec stopped mid-sentence, not sure what he had wanted to say. He felt his arm get tired of holding onto Logan, felt his body give in to the pain. But he knew he had to fight it, knew he had to fight to stay conscious. Everything was so utterly and completely screwed. _He_ was so screwed.

"Alec?" Max's voice wavered into his conscience from very far off. It took all of his strength to make his reluctant eyelids comply and allow him to look at her. She smiled.

"Isn't it funny? - Logan's right, Max: why _are_ you helping me? I mean, I always mess things up for you: the virus... Then I left you in TC without an explanation... All the other crap I pulled... So why did you..." he slurred, unaware of the fact that he was merely remaining in a somewhat upright position because Logan was carrying all his weight. He lifted one tired arm to smooth the deep line of worry etched onto his fellow transgenic's brow. His thumb had barely touched her when her hand came to enclose his wrist. "Alec."

"Come on, man, you're heavy. Let's get going before they get here." Logan shot Max a glance. "Anything we should take with us? Aside from _him_?"

"Aw, such a nice penchant for humor," Alec murmured, a chuckle dying on his lips before it had had a chance to develop into any serious sign of amusement. "You're starting to really grow on me, Log..."

Suddenly he noticed that Max's body was so close to his on one side and Logan's on the other that he couldn't help but think he was kind of like the glove in their relationship, keeping them apart, keeping the virus at bay, but also protecting Max. He'd always protect her from anything that could hurt her, like accidentally killing the Ordinary...

He wanted to say something then, something snarky and fun. But right then, they all heard noises again in the hallway, and someone shouting a designation. His designation.

And Max's...


	15. home?

_Such a long wait, I'm sorry. Let's get on with this quickly..._

* * *

"494! - 452!"

Someone was shouting their designations. Logan looked to Max, his stare one big question: what now? Max looked from him to Joshua and to Alec. The latter wouldn't be able to run fast enough. She herself had started to feel oddly dizzy; she wasn't sure she'd be very fast either.

She bit her lip, trying to get the soldier in her to take over and get them all out of there.

There was really only one way, even though she was reluctant to accept that fact. They'd have to hide in the apartment as best as they could. If the people that were after them found them they still had a better chance of fighting them here than if they were spent from having tried to escape.

Max looked at Logan again, whose nervousness seemed to have grown even more. She motioned for him and Joshua to get Alec and maneuver him into the little supplies closet off to the side of the kitchen that she had seen earlier. At least she hoped it was a closet and not just a door with nothing behind it but brick...

She caught herself actually holding her breath when Logan moved to open it. Thankfully it turned out that she had been right. She saw Logan shove Alec into the dark space that had opened up behind the door, then saw him and Joshua get in there after him.

For a moment she just stood there, listening to the sounds coming from the hallway, from somewhere on the staircase. There was something familiar about the voice she had heard calling, something about its cadence, nearly melodious, pulling...

Max blinked. Shaking herself out of a strange momentary stupor, she blurred into movement and followed her friends into the confined space of the closet. As soon as she was inside and had closed the door, darkness enveloped her completely, sharpening her sense of hearing even more.

A whir, loud enough to give them away, entered her conscience. As if they weren't already waiting like sitting ducks... That whir had to stop, instantly. "Logan," she whispered, unable to move much and do anything about it herself. "Turn off the exo-skeleton."

"But Max, without-"

She didn't let him finish. She knew what he wanted to say. Without the assistance of the exo-skeleton, Logan wasn't able to walk. He'd have to sit down, unable to even try and run once someone opened the closet door. It couldn't be helped.  
"It's too loud..." She sighed. In the darkness she couldn't see much of his face, but she imagined it all too clearly: that upset look of his that always got to her, like on that day when they had had twelve hours in which the virus was dormant, but they hadn't been able to use that time at all. It had run out, just like that, leaving disappointment in its wake.

Just like on that day, though, he accepted it like it was and from one second to the next the whir was gone... All Max could hear now was their quiet breathing and the non too stealthy approach of their pursuers.

* * *

Alec felt warm and curiously comforted waiting in the hiding space offered by the closet. The darkness, the way the doors muffled not only all sounds coming from outside, but even those from inside — their own breathing, the sound of the fabric of their clothes rustling against each other — all that made it feel as if he were enclosed by some kind of cocoon. They were all sitting, he realized, not standing. It had probably happened in that strangely unaccounted for moment between him hearing someone call his designation and finding himself inside his never before used supply closet. It was way too small. His injury let him know that sitting like he did, pressed against Logan on the right and Max on the left, was not the greatest position and far from comfortable. But the closet was too small to allow him to adjust. It was already pretty cramped in there, and he wasn't sure he wouldn't accidently open the door if he only so much as moved a leg, especially since that stupid bullet had completely messed with his transgenic skills.

He tried to shake off the weird woozy feeling that had taken hold of him again, but it was persistent and wouldn't go. Alec knew he was a danger to his friends like that; he couldn't help them one bit. If he were still part of Manticore, he thought, his comrades would probably have terminated him and escaped without him.

But these days Manticore meant "the others," not him, not his friends. What a weird thought. Alec had to fight the ridiculous urge to nudge Max and tell her about it.

Outside, he could hear people roaming through his things, tearing cupboards open, surely making even more of a mess of his apartment.

He felt Max and Logan breathe beside him, he could hear Joshua's quiet sniffs and was glad for that. It was weird, really, and he couldn't explain it, but there was some indefinable fear growing inside him, a fear he couldn't begin to understand. It was as if something was pulling at him. The only thing making it a bit more bearable was the closeness of his friends, of Max, the big fella, even of Logan. He wouldn't have wanted to be alone, not with that fear…

Eventually, the pain was strong enough to blanket everything else, making it impossible for him to think or to wonder about that strange fear any more. He wasn't even aware of the small noise he made when his body succumbed to unconsciousness.

* * *

He had seen it all happen from a distance, the explosion, Logan's arrival, the shots at Asha. He had seen her bleed onto the pavement. He had been itching to spring into action then and get the poor little blonde out of there.

And he had. If this had been the old days - Manticore days - he would have waited it out. He wouldn't have left his cover to save an Ordinary that didn't have any meaning, any use for any of this any more.

She was still a friend, though. They had doubted her, but she had proven herself: Asha Barlow had remained a friend till the very end.

Now she lay in Mole's arms, in the back of a dark van with tinted windshields, her head tilted up so that it seemed like she was staring up into his dark eyes. But she couldn't see him any more. It had been too late for help. He had known it before, had known it when he had seen Fawn shoot another bullet into Asha's frail body. Yet when he had seen Logan run back to the car, he had gone to get her out of there. Someone had to.

The big lizard man frowned at himself. Had he grown soft, worrying about Ordinaries like that? Suddenly he remembered his meeting with Alec a couple of months earlier. The little smartass had called him a "big softie" then and Mole had slapped his head for that. Alec had chuckled and said, "Dude, you should just accept it, it's a fact. Everyone knows that there's a big heart behind all those super tough scales."

Maybe he had been right; and maybe that wasn't a flaw...

Asha hadn't been Manticore. She couldn't have survived this and it hadn't taken her long, but at least she hadn't been alone. Somehow that made him feel better.

With a sigh, he eventually moved to get up. He lowered Asha's body gently onto the floor. They'd bring her home eventually, but there was some business he had to attend to first.

Alec had called him for help months ago, and Mole - even though he had wanted to stay out of it - had begun to shadow the woman his friend had pointed out to him: Fawn. At first he hadn't been sure the whole thing wasn't just Princess's way of luring him back into the whole "transgenic cause" dealio, a cause he hadn't been willing to fight. But then he had figured that shadowing the woman for a couple of days would do no harm. He had thought he'd do Alec that favor and then, after a week or two, he'd tell him that everything was fine and move on.

That had been before he had seen the effect she had on the people around her. It was as if she hypnotized them just by being around them, making them act all weird. He had known Alec was really on to something then and he had continued to follow her wherever she went, always making sure that she didn't discover his presence.

There had been something about her, just like Princess had said, that made him feel uneasy. Like she wasn't merely former Manticore, using her special "talents" to get by in this new free world like they all did. No, something about the way she manipulated people had told him that this was more, this was not innocent and no survival mode. This was utilizing people for your own cause, against their will. And it had reeked of military endeavors.

It had spelled out one name: Manticore. All over again...

Mole sniffed, running a hand over his face. Absently, he dug a cigar out of his pockets and put it into his mouth, breathing in deeply. With a last look at Asha's body, he opened the back door of the van and silently jumped out onto the street. "We'll get you home later, little girl," he muttered just as Dix appeared at his side and said, "What?"

"Nothing," Mole grumbled. He saw Dix shrug. The guy had probably thought Mole had gone off the deep end earlier when he had run and carried the dying girl into their van. He couldn't blame him for that, or for the look he gave Mole now, skeptical, and wary.

"Yeah, right. Uh, Mole, the - the GPS - you better look at this..."

Mole squinted at the small trangenic in front of him, "Spit it out," he ordered, busying himself with reloading his machine gun, getting ready for a fight.

"Looks like she's at Alec's apartment?"

"That a question, Dix?" Mole replied, his annoyance obvious. It was not the little guy's fault, though. It was _her's..._

"Yes, I mean, no. They are definitely there. You think Alec knows? Should - should we call him or something?" Dix seemed positively frightened. Of him? Frowning, Mole considered this possibility, then patted Dix on the shoulder, heavily enough to make the smaller on's knees buckle. He didn't notice it.

That was the way to show support, right? Camaraderie? A good pat on the shoulder.

"Do I think Princess knows?" he asked, shouldering his gun, "Hell, I'm sure Princess is already there himself, getting his ass handed to him. I'm sure that's why the Ordinary was here, too. Alec called in the Seattle cavalry. - Let's role, Dix. I think it's time for us to join a fight."

With that, Mole walked to the front of the car and hopped back in. This had to stop...

* * *

Max heard the first shot at the same time she felt Alec's body go slack against her.

"Logan," she whispered, "Josh." They had to do something, though she didn't know what.

Joshua must have sensed her agitation because it was him who finally took matters into his hands and moved to open the door. "No," she mouthed. They were not ready for a fight. She felt so tired and out of focus, Alec was unconscious, Logan couldn't walk. Things were bound to go south if they tried to take on the strangers - strangers who quite possibly were transgenics themselves, or at least knew how to deal with them. Despite the confined room, Josh managed to cup her face then, smiled briefly, and opened the door a little anyway.

In expectation of an ensuing catastrophe, of the sounds of shooting increasing and growing louder, closer, of seeing Joshua being shot to pieces, and Logan and Alec bleeding out their lives right next to her, she found herself closing her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened them again, all she could see, all she could hear was a sudden white silence. And the guys' steady breathing.

With one look into Alec's troubled face, Max was relieved to suddenly find him stare back at her, his gaze shining with fever. She had difficulties tearing her eyes away from him to look at Logan, as if Alec might close his eyes just because she was no longer gazing down at him.

In the distance, strangely far off, she heard someone call her name. She noticed a look of utter shock on Logan's drawn face.

And then she saw _her._

A woman.

Eyes that made you forget.

A voice that pulled you in.

"452."

Max blinked. She saw that Joshua had managed to knock out one - no, two guys, but was now standing right by the brunette's side, his eyes oddly vacant. "Joshua," she said. She had wanted to shout his name, but all she had managed was a hoarse near-whisper.

"Well, the boss'll be pleased. This is more than we could have hoped for. 494 brought us a little present it seems. - Oh, and there we have him. Doesn't look so well now, does he?" The tall woman chuckled lightly, it sounded eerily pleasing. Max shook her head, she wanted to get up, but for some reason her body wasn't complying. She simply sat there, staring up at the woman, and couldn't move.

"Easy, 452," the woman said, "There's a lot still to do." She smiled down at Max, a few lines appearing on her forehead. Then she added, curiously, "Time to go home, 452, time to go home..."

Max found herself lifted up to her feet by Joshua. She stared up into the big fella's eyes, but it was as if he wasn't there anymore. He wasn't himself. "Time to go home," he repeated Fawn's words and lifted Max up in his arms.

No, she thought, no! But the words wouldn't come, and Joshua carried her out through the door, down the stairs, while she saw others grab Alec and Logan and do the same with them. They didn't resist.

No...


	16. if this is the end

Alec knew that under normal circumstances they would have fought. Somehow, though, he wasn't the only one that had been entranced by Fawn's strange powers. What the hell was in her cocktail, he wondered, but he couldn't come up with anything. Certainly not cat... Was she even X5?

With a thunk, he landed ungracefully on the ground of the back of a van. "Ouch," he made, frowning indignantly up at his captor, a tall brutish looking dude who definitely had 'Manticore' written all over him. He didn't even grace him with a look.

Alec's side was burning and, looking down, he noticed that fresh blood had begun oozing out of him. Another not too great observation was that his hands had been tied with something that looked like thick wire, his feet too. He didn't remember when it had happened, but it screwed his plans of an easy escape.

He hadn't gotten very far in coming up with an alternative plan when Max was tossed into the van and came to lie right next to him. Then Logan followed, and someone closed the door, locking them in with the darkness and the smell of gasoline.

Why the hell had none of them put up a fight? Alec frowned to himself. Suddenly, though, he noticed something even more odd than that: he didn't see the big fella anywhere. What had they done to him? Uneasiness crept up Alec's spine, but he tried to battle it when he saw that Max was hefting her gaze at him.

She was too worried to smile, but he did. "It's alright, Max," he whispered. "We'll be fine…"

Max was staring at Alec, her expression momentarily inscrutable. Yet he could always read so much in that pretty face. Disbelief, anger, sorrow.

Alec's grin faltered...

* * *

_Two days earlier..._

"Rom, can I talk to you for a minute?"

The blonde stood in the room she considered her office, pacing with a phone in her hand. Now she stopped for a moment to look at the person standing by the door: Alec.

"Can this wait? I'm waiting for an important phone call." She seemed strangely agitated, Alec thought as he scrutinized her. Her face was flushed, her hair had lost some of its sheen, he could smell a sour note to her sweat that hadn't been there before. He frowned. Something was going on with her...

"Sure," he eventually replied and nodded. "Is everything alright?"

"Huh? - Oh, yes. Yes, everything is alright. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Just let me know when you're done, I'll be outside." He pointed behind himself into the hallway that opened into a large space they used as a common room. But Rommie wasn't even looking at him any more. For a few more seconds, Alec lingered in the doorway. Then he eventually turned around and walked away. Slowly. After he had walked down half of the hallway, he stopped and leaned against the wall, allowing an air of boredom and leisure to play across his features. He took out his cell phone and pretended to play with it. If anyone would come by, they would think he was just an S1W member hanging around, killing time.

In truth, he tuned his ears to whatever could be heard from Rommie's office. The rustle of paper as she opened a file, the continuing small steps she made as she was pacing. Up and down, up and down... And finally, the barely audible muted sound of a ringing phone.

"'lo?" she said. She sounded off, anxious maybe. "Yes. [...] Do we really have to, I mean... [...] Yes, of course. I'm sorry. It's just, I thought this was supposed to make the infiltration easier. Otherwise we wouldn't have needed the S1W... [...] of course. [...] Understood."

Alec was annoyed that he couldn't hear what the other party was saying. They were speaking too lowly to be heard from this distance. Maybe if he walked a little closer to the office door again... He had only taken two small steps when he suddenly heard Rommie say, "We're ready to take over the Town Hall any time now. The date has been set, a week from now, yes. [...] No one, except for 494 that is."

Alec held his breath. What were they talking about? Who was she talking to? Fawn? Did this mean Fawn knew about him, knew that he was here, in Portland?

"Why? [...]," Rommie, who didn't know she had a listener, continued talking and pacing. "Are you sure? 452? I didn't know they were... he never even mentioned - [...] Copy that."

Suddenly Alec found the blonde looking straight at him. He grinned apologetically. Rommie slowly spoke into the phone, "I gotta go now. [...] I'll take care of it," then she lowered the receiver, all the while locking gazes with him.

"If this is a bad time, I'll come back later, no problem. I'll just..." he wanted to turn around smoothly, walk out the door, and run. But before he could do any of that, a sharp pain erupted in his side and the sheer force of it made him fall to the ground. She had shot him. Rommie had shot him. Disbelievingly, Alec put a hand to his side, then lifted it. It came away bloody. Awesome, he thought, now what? He had to think quickly. Somehow Rommie had found out that they were _not_ on the same side. But how? What had happened?

"It's too bad I can't kill you just yet, 494. You betrayed my trust."

"I think the fault would lie more with the person bestowing the trust, don't you think? Besides, I _am_ quite a trustworthy guy... I mean, can these eyes really lie?" he tried to make light of the situation, while he was struggling to get up off the ground. Rommie walked toward him, the gun still raised.

Rommie didn't look upset at all, not even annoyed. She looked as if she wasn't all there, and that was what made Alec start getting worried. "Come on, Rom. We're friends, right? Fighting the good old Manticore cause and all?"

"We're not, it seems. - You're flawed, you're part of the flawed series. Twin of a rogue. I should have known."

"I'm getting the strange vibe that you don't like me very much. Guess that's my cue to leave," Alec smirked. By now he had struggled into a standing position again, but before he could blur into a run two dark figures appeared out of nowhere, and grabbed him. He tried to fight them off, but his body was acting all weird, and the pain... He felt darkness creep into his vision, but he mustn't lose consciousness. He had to hang on. He had to fight them.

"You're lucky that Fawn thinks she owes you one. For bringing her home..."

"Funny, I don't feel so lucky," he bit out, straining against the goons who were holding him up.

Rommie grinned a fake grin. "There's three things I just learned about you, _Alec,"_ she bit out the name Max had given him like it was a curse.

"Number one: we are NOT fighting the same cause at all. You're not here to help Manticore, but to bring it down for good. Number two: you might actually help us understand and get rid of the flaws that turn some of you into rogues since with your type it's obviously genetic. I mean, had I known your brother was 493..." she clicked her tongue and her grin turned into a real one.

Alec began to understand that he was really screwed. If his so-called brother was mentioned, it couldn't mean anything good, it never did. He continued trying to fight off the hands holding him, but he simply couldn't. Something was wrong with him, something was dulling his senses more and more.

"It'll be a blessing to finally be able to create soldiers we can fully trust, soldiers we can program even better, soldiers who don't need constant reindoctrination and PsyOps sessions. Soldiers unlike you." She looked at him accusingly, pointing a finger like an upset kindergartener. Alec was beyond snark. Slowly his knees were giving out and he felt the last remnants of fight leave his body.

When Rommie remained quiet for more than two minutes, Alec mumbled one last question while he already felt himself succumb to unconsciousness. "And number three?"

"Oh. - Fawn informed me that you and 452 used to know each other quite well."

Alec's brain was no longer able to follow, the hot cotton in his head was taking over, making it near impossible for him to follow Rommie's last words.

"That means, via you we'll finally be able to get her back. So, not only will we bring Manticore back with the best disguise ever - thanks to your S1W friends; we'll also be able to finish where we left off - to use 452 for the purpose she was created for..."

Max, Alec thought. Before unsconsciousness finally took over, her image appeared before his inner eye. Max. He had to warn her.

* * *

_[The present]_

Max felt as if cotton was clotting her ears. She couldn't think. She could barely move. She tried to remember what had happened, how she had gotten here: into her current prison. She knew that they had been brought here by the van. But where exactly was "here," and how had she ended up in this caged space, her hands tied behind her, chained to the wall? She closed her eyes briefly, willing her cloudy vision to clear, willing her sluggish brain to function.

When she opened them again, all she could do was watch as two dark-clad figures attended to a barely conscious Alec, who was lying on some kind of gurney, ready to be carted off. Next to her, she could sense Logan, whose hands were chained too. He was sitting with his back against the wall, his head leaning against the cold concrete. He was staring into nothingness.

And where was Joshua? She hadn't seen him ever since they had brought her here.

Eventually someone's voice entered her conscience, "We're not gonna terminate him, 452. In case you were worried..." Max looked up; she wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come.

"Are you gonna terminate _us?"_ Logan asked in her stead. He sounded angry, not defeated. Briefly she wondered how he could still function under the circumstances: an Ordinary, unable to walk, imprisoned in this dark clammy place, caught by Manticore soldiers with an unknown agenda. He had witnessed his friend being shot earlier. He, like her, like Alec, had been drugged or hypnotized or whatever the hell it was they had done to them.

"Logan," she managed to hiss. Oddly, he smiled at her. She could detect the pain behind that expression, the deep hurt. She tried to raise one of her chained hands to touch his cheek. But the chain kept her back and Logan actually shrank away from her a little. "Don't, Max," he whispered firmly, though not unkindly, just as Fawn chuckled, "Aw, good one, Mister Eyes Only. Really. I think I like you; I like the way your mind works." Fawn nodded, still grinning. "But, rest assured you two: for now we're not gonna terminate anyone. - Now, if you'll excuse me, I got some business to attend to with 494 over there..."

She had the nerve to pat Max on the shoulder, causing her to strain and buck against her chains. "What are you going to do to him? Leave him alone!" she called out, glad that strength and determination were back in her voice. "Don't you dare touch-"

Fawn turned to face her once again. Her grin had vanished, her features slackened into an almost bored expression. "You're not very original, 452. It's a shame what has become of you. They should have tried harder to recapture you. Now the reprogramming is going to be that much more tedious... Oh well. You are his most precious child, so I guess he won't mind spending some extra time with you. Still... A shame... You could have been so useful even in the past... Your DNA sequence is perfect, no flaws... not like... - But I'm talking too much. My greatest strength is also my greatest weakness," she laughed, "So cliché, don't you think? Funny how that works."

Max held the taller woman's gaze, inhaling through her nose in order to slow down her suddenly hectic breathing. She was aware that something didn't feel quite right. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was. It wasn't what she said, it was _how_ she said it. And that deep dark stare... Max ordered herself to resist the strange influence the other one had on her. It had to be possible to do so, she was a transgenic too, after all, engineered to be a soldier.

* * *

"Max? Hey, Max... Max? Can you hear me?"

Good old Logan, Max thought, he could be so reassuringly calm and rational if a situation demanded it. Like this one did. Max blinked as she heard him address her and she noticed that Fawn was gone. Quickly, she turned her head to where she had last seen Alec on that gurney, but he was gone too.

What had happened? Where had they gone? How? Why hadn't she seen it happen? What was _wrong_ with her?

Fiercely, she stared at Logan. She breathed in and out a couple times before she knew she could trust herself not to panic. Unable to suppress a growing tremor in her voice, she said, "I - I must have blacked out, Logan. Something isn't right. I didn't even see her leave, I..."

"I know, Max. But it's going to be alright, you hear? It's going to be okay."

"I'm not sure it will be. - Where did they bring Alec? What-" She stared up at him, suddenly feeling strangely shy as she amended, "What if they hurt him?" Frowning in thought, Max took a deep intake of breath. "What if-"

"They're going to reindoctrinate him?" Logan asked, looking sympathetic. "Alec's a tough guy, Max. He's been through reindoctrination and all that PsyOps stuff before, right? He-"

"He's been through so much with that, Logan."

"I know." Logan frowned at her, wondering why she was so adamantly pointing that out to him. "He's strong, though. He'll be alright. In the meantime, we should rather try and make a plan on how to get him - and us - out of here..."

Max wasn't even listening and that worried Logan. It was as if whatever that woman Fawn had done to them, was worse for Max. Or maybe it was the bullet, he couldn't be certain. Suddenly she said, "I know you don't like him."

"Uh," Logan was taken by surprise, "That's not quite how I would put it. He's just - Alec, and-"

"He is my friend."

"I know, Max. I understand."

"He is my friend and I love him. - Logan, you don't know him the way I do. You probably believe this whole tough guy attitude is the real Alec. But it's not. If they put him through Reindoctrination or PsyOps again? I don't know how well he'll take that; I really don't. He's so… he's just way more vulnerable than you might think. I'm just - I'm just worried they might eventually break him..."

Max's voice died in a whisper of air as she noticed the change in Logan's expression. It was the way he stared at her that had made her fall silent. All at once, his previous frown had been replaced by a strange look of understanding, or was it resignation? Maybe she was only imagining it, but she couldn't quite believe that. As the quiet sound of a soft and sad chuckle jolted Max from her thoughts, her gaze met Logan's again. She sighed.

His voice was barely above a whisper, as he asked, "So, after all this time you still care about him so much?" He looked down at Max and she held his gaze. "After all this time, after he left you and TC like that, without a good bye?"

She didn't answer. All she did was let her head droop eventually and fix her gaze on a spot on her left shoe until her vision swam and there was no longer a spot to focus on.

When she lifted her head again, she noticed Logan nod. Briefly he pressed his lips together tightly before he finally addressed her again. "Thanks for not lying to me, Max. Actually, thanks for not saying anything at all. - Don't worry, we'll get him out of there. We'll figure something out."

Seeing Logan grin so sadly and knowing that he, too, had been through a lot during the last twenty-four hours, panged Max. Yet she couldn't think of anything to say. One of Alec's snarky comments would have been welcome now, or Mole's pragmatism. But Alec had been carted off to some unknown - most likely horrible - place. And Mole was unavailable.

Max bit her lip and for once couldn't think of anything to say, while Logan had fallen completely silent beside her.

* * *

Alec woke up to find that everything around him was only a blur. _"…not gonna hurt…"_ Then his eyes began to adjust. _"__extricate... DNA-sequence..." _His mind gradually followed. _"…asset to the cause, if only…"_

A sonorous whisper of words was filtering into his ears as he realized he was lying on some kind of gurney, or table. The harsh cold metal was digging into his bare back. Wait, he thought, bewilderment setting in before his mind had had any real time to become less clouded, less sluggish. There were some pieces missing. How did he get there? What about the shooting, the closet... Max, and Josh... The Ordinary... What had happened? He blinked and tried to turn his head a little, to take in this sudden change of events.

_"…see whether we can't determine what is responsible for that behavior..."_

They had hooked him up to an IV drip. There was a stark white light above him, making it nearly impossible to see anything. _"…get it out of you, 494. Eventually, after you'll have told us everything you know, we'll be able to turn you into an obedient soldier."_

Fawn. With a start, Alec's mind had finally caught up with his situation. This was a Manticore facility. It was one of their laboratories. Looking down his body, he noticed that his arms, his hands were chained to the table. He couldn't move them. Neither could he move his legs. They must have shackled them, too. Alec broke out in a cold sweat. Suddenly, a whirl of unwanted images appeared before his eyes.

Red lights.

A hurt, profusely bleeding Fawn.

An explosion.

An innocent man with glasses, getting killed. By him.

Rachel.

452.

Joshua.

A mirror showing the boy he was, four years old, but not a mirror, for the image moved when he did not...

494; his designation.

Obedience.

Respect.

A name: Alec.

494.

A brother. Someone like him?

Obedience.

Follow your orders.

Report.

494.

452.

452.

452.

_No, Max..._

_"Good, 494, you're doing good. It won't mean anything to you, but you can be proud, you're going to help make the new X-generations better,"_ someone was saying, and though Alec hated that voice, hated what it was inferring, he forced himself to listen to it as it kept him grounded to reality. It kept him from sinking deeper down the spiral of reindoctrination to that place where he had lost his past, his _self_ before...

"…_You and 452..." _Alec had difficulties interpreting the words, making sense of what was being said to a presumed unconscious version of him. _"…progress..._" He had to listen harder, he had to fight to not give in to the images.

_"... that she's supposed to save humanity? According to the old man..."_

"Max?" Alec eventually whispered, but it was not much more than a breath, inaudible to the person talking to him. Still oblivious to him being conscious, they went on, "_I mean, with you we've always known who you are - well, not all of us obviously... But, the ones high up, the ones that actually count. They knew it. They knew about the flawed sequence. Renfro didn't have a clue, of course, or Lydecker..." _A chuckle._ "452, she's what you are not, 494. It's nearly poetic in its beauty."_

Max..., Alec thought as finally the world turned dark and quiet around him once more. No more images, no more voices. Just emptiness. And that one name._  
_

Max.

* * *

_This story was supposed to only have 16 chapters at some point. I guess I can't quite stop it here, though, huh?  
_


	17. Perfect

_Perfect._

With a start Alec came to, briefly wondering about the word that had been on his mind and that had brought him back to consciousness. _Perfect._ Even though his brain felt a little sluggish, his soldier senses kicked back in quickly and he assessed his current situation. He was lying on the ground in what looked to be a small holding cell, very reminiscent of the Manticore cubicles he had spent most of his life in before the escape.

Manticore. It all came back to him then. Fawn, Rommie, being captured. Reindoctrination...

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the small camera suspended from the ceiling. They were monitoring him. With that thought in mind, Alec forced himself to keep calm and only move very slowly. Relieved to find his hands and legs unbound, he sat up and looked around him, inspecting the bare walls of the cell, the floor, the ceiling, the small barred window high up on the wall opposite a heavy looking door. Yup, he thought, Manticore built. The window was so tiny that no human being could fit through it. The door had no handle, nothing that he could get a hold on to try and pry it open. It was smooth metal - probably titanium.

He stood up anyway, and even though he felt the urge to pace and try to open the door somehow anyway, he ordered himself to remain standing in one corner of the room, as motionless as possible. As if he were waiting for someone to tell him what to do. As if his mind was blank; like it would be expected of someone who had just undergone an intensive reindoctrination session.

After a few minutes of just standing and waiting and trying to come up with a plan for escape, he noticed something else, a pleasant surprise for once. He felt better. Physically, he felt much better than a few hours ago. Whatever they had done to him, at least they had taken care of that toxin in his body in the process. Or so it seemed. Without daring to lift what seemed to be a clean new shirt and take a look at the wound, he was sure the injury had started to heal for real. The pain in his side had finally subsided to a low throb.

_Perfect. _

He had barely had time to wonder about that, or how on earth he had managed to remain mostly unscathed by their reindoctrination efforts, when that word popped up in his mind again. _Perfect. _Had the thought of Max and her perfection kept him from going off the deep end, from losing his soul in the reindoctrination process? Could that really be? Max. He remembered how that voice had told him Max was perfect. It had told him she was what he was not. He was flawed, she wasn't, whatever that was supposed to mean.

Awesome, he couldn't help but think, like li'l missy isn't already way too self-confident. He had better make sure that no one told her that she was officially deemed perfect by Manticore... He had to keep his smirk to himself, making his face nothing but a mask showing no emotion.

He remembered other things, too. How they had poked him with needles, how they had told him he would help make the next series flawless. How? By comparing his DNA to hers and finding the difference that way? The flaw? He couldn't let them put Max through this, he had to get her out of that place before they could take her, vivisect her, reindoctrinate her. - They had said they wanted to make him flawless too...

He had to get out of there, STAT. He had to find Max and Logan. And Josh. He had to stop whatever the hell Fawn had started. He had to stop Manticore from thriving even more, behind the S1W disguise they seemed to be using to grow bigger and stronger and ever more powerful.

But how?

Standing in the corner, staring ahead, he pondered those questions when he heard steps on the other side of the door, in the hallway. They were coming closer, then stopped as the door to his cell was opened, the light from the hallway illuminating a silhouette that closely resembled that of Joshua. Alec's breath hitched as his nose told him that it was indeed the big fella, even though his eyes couldn't make out the other one's face yet. The light made the big guy's features look like a black inscrutable mask.

"494 is to follow Joshua now," was all he said and Alec's heart sank. It didn't sound at all like his friend, just cold and soulless. A command. 494... He couldn't remember one time Joshua had ever called him that.

He decided to play along for now, though. He couldn't really do much else, anyway.

He'd do anything to get him out of the cell...

* * *

Max wasn't sure how much time had passed when suddenly the door to the place where she and Logan were held opened and the big fella and Alec appeared in the doorway. She struggled to her feet immediately, not sure what to expect, and cursed her body for its weakness. The bullet wound felt nasty and hurt like a bitch. Worse than that, though, was the grogginess that had taken hold of her and that made even the simplest move too damn exhausting.

She frowned when it registered with her how Alec, on the other hand, seemed much better than before. What had they done to him? They must have reclaimed him, she figured. The reindoctrination must have been successful and thus the poison had no longer been of any use to them. They needed him healthy after all. A good little healthy soldier... Unable to keep the sadness and anger at bay which that thought evoked in her, she clenched her teeth. If Alec was Manticore again...

Briefly, she looked down to where Logan was sitting, his useless legs splayed out in front of him, but his eyes were as clear and alert as ever. She could tell that he was just as wary as she was.

"452." It was Joshua who addressed her, Alec merely standing to the side, his gaze held by some spot right over her left shoulder.

She stood there, rigid, and stared at Joshua, who used to be her friend. What had they done to him, to Alec? What had that woman, Fawn, done? It better be reversible, Max thought, anger taking over, or she would see to it herself that Fawn paid for all of this dearly.

"You are to report back to duty. You are to follow Joshua."

Already, the big guy had opened her cell and was reaching in to grab her arm, obviously anticipating her not wanting to come willingly. She allowed it, though. After all she wasn't stupid. She knew she was in no position to put up much of a fight against someone as strong as Joshua, not with that toxin running through her veins. Besides, he was not alone. It was two against one when it came done to it. Max couldn't really count Logan, who would never be able to help her in a fight; not in his current state.

"Max." Logan said urgently, trying to lift himself up, but to no avail. She met his gaze and shook her head. She hadn't given up yet, not entirely, though she knew that's what Logan was thinking.

Before she had time to come up with something to say to him and let him know that even though things were looking pretty bleak right now she would find a way to get them both out of there - to get them all out of there, she saw Alec morph out of his seeming stupor back into his old self and blur into action.

Whirling around, he grabbed Joshua from behind and with a swift movement that the other one never saw coming, knocked him out with a well placed blow to the back of his neck. The big fella slumped to the ground with an awkward thud and a stunned Max was left standing in front of a grinning Alec. "Good to see you too, Max," he said, his grin wavering when he noticed how tired and drawn she looked.

"We gotta get moving, Max. I'm sure Fawn's troops are already on the way - there're cameras everywhere in this friggin' place."

Max's gaze traveled to where Logan was sitting, then to Joshua's body lying motionless on the ground. It took her a moment to process what Alec had just said - and what it meant. "You want to go without them?" she asked incredulously. No way would she leave her friends behind in a place like this.

"We have to, Max."

"You are out of your mind, Alec. I'm not gonna leave Logan and Joshua behind, not with Fawn-"

"Max. Don't make this harder than it already is. It's not like I _wanna_ leave them, alright? But it's the smart thing to do-"

"The _smart_ thing?!"

He should have known that she'd explode on him. He should have known better than to tell her. In fact, he should have just grabbed her, thrown her over his shoulder and run for it. Thinking about it, Alec decided to do just that now. There was no time to let her vent, especially since he didn't even know yet where to go from there. It was not like he had planned any of this: the attack on Joshua had pretty much come out of the blue, startling even himself.

Therefore, he just blurred into motion again and hoisted her up off the ground. "We'll come and get them later, alright? First we need to get out of here."

"Let me down," she bit out, fighting him tooth and nail, cursing under her breath as she felt her body betray her. Right now she was no match for Alec's strength, not at all. "Let me the hell down!" she demanded again, but Alec held on to her relentlessly and stalked off to the door. "Sorry, Log," he said, turning around before stepping out into the hallway. "We'll come back and get you, as soon as possible."

The Ordinary nodded at him, if with an empty look on his face. "It's alright, Max," he then said, shifting his stare from Alec to her. "He's right. You guys need to take this chance. You need to go."

"Logan-"

"I would only slow you down. You know they'd be on you in no time if you were to take me with you. Without my exo..." his voice trailed off and he simply nodded at her again. He smiled at her sadly, and Alec felt Max's struggle die down, felt the tension leave her body in defeat.

"We'll come back and get you, Logan," Alec announced, like it was a fact. He respected the older man for what he had just said, for knowing it to be true, for being willing to face that truth head on. The two men looked at each other somberly, then Logan grinned.

"You take care of her, Alec. Now get her out of here."

"Sure thing, man."

"And, Alec?!

"Yuh?"

Logan rubbed his eyes, then looked at Alec imploringly, "Don't let her down until you're out of here. She'll tell you that she won't do anything stupid, she'll tell you that she knows you're right. But that's not true. - She'd run straight back here, you know that. So - just get her out of here first."

Alec nodded. For a moment, respect for the other man shone in his eyes, before he turned to leave the room, Max hanging from his shoulders, too exhausted to fight him anymore. She couldn't look at Logan.

If only she had all her strength. She could carry Logan, and Alec could carry Josh. - What would happen to them now? What would Fawn do to them? Tears were welling up in her eyes, angry tears she couldn't stave off.

"Logan..." she whispered. "Josh."

But Alec was already carrying her out of the room, into the hallway; and all she could see was the shiny floor through a veil of her own stupid tears.


	18. (New) Manticore

_It's been a while... some not so fun RL stuff kinda "killed" the muse there for a while. Let's see how (or if) she's recovering...  
_

* * *

They were in the hallway. The light from above was almost blinding in its white intensity, but being X5, both Max and Alec adjusted quickly. Alec ran. Max found herself still hanging from his shoulders, slowly snapping out of her previous stupor. This was crazy. She was slowing Alec down. She should be running alongside him. She should... She should run back and get at least one of her friends out of here.

But she knew that even one whispered word could give them away in here. There were hidden eyes and ears everywhere, genetically enhanced, too perceptive of even the most quiet of conversations. She had to keep quiet.

The hallway seemed unending. It was winding its way deep into or maybe even out of the building they were in, she couldn't tell. They passed by doors on either side. Alec took a turn to the left, left again. He sniffed the air once, continued running so fast his feet barely touched the ground longer than a split second with each step.

They heard it at the same time, noise, coming from ahead, growing louder. People were talking. Max felt Alec freeze. Out here in the open hallway they were exposed, an easy target. They had to move. They had to get away somehow, but where? It was then that Max's survival instinct grew stronger than her need to save her friends, and she signed to Alec to let her down. Together they might be able to pry one of those doors open. With any luck, they could hide there till the people passed by.

Alec looked at her sideways, frowning briefly. But he, too, was first and foremost a soldier who had to trust his comrade if he wanted to increase his chances of survival.

So he let her down.

* * *

When Mole and Dix got to the apartment, they found the place deserted. Dix sighed and shook his head as they started to examine the place more closely. When they didn't find anything, he turned to Mole.

"Looks like they weren't even here. The place is spotless. Nothing indicates that anyone was here lately. Guess that's a good sign, right? I mean, no signs of struggle, no-"

"Exactly," Mole interrupted him, chewing on his cigar a little too vigorously. Dix knew something was up, but his friend didn't volunteer any information. He had to prod him for it.

"Mole?" he asked. "What is it."

The taller man stared down at the other one, his thoughts going a mile a minute. Eventually he muttered, "It's too spotless. Like someone cleaned the place up. Our people wouldn't have had the time to do this, not with Fawn on their heels."

"You mean..."

"Damn straight! I mean Fawn and her friggin' Manticore bunch got to them. Now where the hell are they?!" Angrily, Mole threw his cigar to the ground and stepped on it, crushing it to bits. Great, he thought. He had no clue what to do next. All he knew was that he had to find Max and Alec and take out Fawn.

He had to stop the resurrection of Manticore, if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

Thankfully, the doors opened way easier from the outside than from the inside. It took Alec and Max a mere few seconds to open the nearest one and slip into the room that opened up behind it. The tough part was keeping the door open just a little bit so as not to trap themselves in the room.

Alec used his fingernails for that, then turned to take a look around. Max motioned for him to be quiet, to not move. He was about to shoot a glare in her direction, because how stupid did she think he was? But then he saw what had caught the other one's attention. Rows of beds, opposite a wall with heavily barred windows that let in only darkness. In front of each bed stood a soldier, staring at them, remaining oddly quiet. No one moved.

Alec exchanged a glance with Max and noticed that she was just as tense as he was.

This was Manticore.

Vivid images of years past assaulted him and for a moment he felt like he couldn't breathe. Max grabbed his free hand and looked at him. It was all he could do to look back at her and force himself to breathe evenly.

At that moment they heard the voices on the other side of the door and they both snapped out of it immediately. Alec closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again Max nodded and he let go of the door, making sure it closed without making a sound.

They were trapped in a room full of new Manticore soldiers, soldiers that seemed to be communicating in some sign language that Alec and Max didn't know, then they quickly came closer.

What kind of series were these kids? He didn't remember ever having seen them in the past.

"Alec," Max whispered, unsure of what to do.

"Shshsh," one of the young soldiers suddenly made, putting a finger to her lips. Max froze as her eyes met those of the other one whose features were painfully familiar, even in this poor lighting. It was Max, only a little younger, her hair in a short buzz cut. Yet another clone... Max and Alec exchanged a glance. Alec's tongue felt like lead. He had a funny taste in his mouth.

"Follow us," young Max said. It neither sounded like a command nor a suggestion. The older ones followed her anyway. Quickly, she went deeper into the room until she came to another door which opened into a spacious restroom. Acutely aware of all the other young soldiers behind them, Alec and Max stepped inside, exchanging silent glances. What was going on? What were they doing?

"Take off your clothes and put on these," another one of the kids whispered, and Max's breath caught. It was a young Krit. Quickly, she glanced at all the other soldiers and was shocked to notice that they were all there: her siblings, or rather, their younger clones. How much younger were they? Two years maybe? Three? They looked to be about the same age she had been when she had first met Alec. They were neither X7 nor X8. X6 maybe? She had never really known much about the 6-series, so it was possible. Or were they something else entirely?

Her thought process was ended abruptly, when one of the kids approached her with what looked to be a razor, or maybe just a sharp knive. Instantly, she got into a fighting stance, but the kid simply pointed at her hair and said: "If you want to live, the hair will have to go. There is no other way."

"Why are you helping us?" she asked, dumbly, watching as Alec got his head shaved too.

"We heard about you," one of them said. "We were designed after you, all of us. To get rid of the flaws..."

She watched as her younger version suddenly stripped, then said, "Give me your clothes."

"What?"

"We need to protect you. You are us, we are you. - You are the one who got away before. You will get our brothers and sisters out of here. You will have to stop this. Them..."

Max wasn't sure she understood. She looked to Alec for reassurance, shocked to see how young he looked with his shaved head and the Manticore clothes he had donned. He just stared at her for a moment, until suddenly he turned around to face his younger clone, furrowing his brow. "Wait," he said, "What are you trying to say here, kids? - I mean, thanks for doing this, for trying to help us and all, but - I mean, come on, guys. These people are not stupid, they'll know there's two more of us, and it won't take them long until they'll have figured out who-"

He didn't get further than that when suddenly it registered with him what was happening. It was as if time had slowed down, yet he still couldn't do anything to stop it. Staring at Max for just a second, he saw that she didn't understand, couldn't understand, because she had been gone so early on in her training. He had to try and stop it all by himself, but he already knew he wasn't gonna be able to.

Max stifled a cry when she finally realized what was happening. Out of the blue, Alec had blurred into action. She hadn't known what was going on until it was too late. Before Alec could get to them, the young Max and Alec, now dressed in their older brother's and sister's clothes, had nodded to their fellow soldiers who had then narrowed in on them oddly silently, and once they stepped aside again, a mere few seconds later, Max could only see two dead bodies lying on the floor. Someone had placed the razors in their hands, making it look like they had tried to shave their own heads.

They had sacrificed themselves for her and Alec. They had died to provide a cover for them. Why?

Her mouth fell open in shock. No one reciprocated her stare but Alec. He looked at her, his hazel eyes shuttered, yet his pain was more than palpable to her. It mirrored her own.

Suddenly the door in the other room was opened with a loud bang and together with the harsh light in the hallway, a group of armed soldiers in combat clothes entered the dorm and marched straight through to the adjacent restroom.

Alec's mouth tasted coppery. He stared at Max, unable to look away. He knew he should try to aim for a more withdrawn empty stare, just like almost everyone around him, but he couldn't. He simply couldn't.

He was right back where he had been for most of his life. It might have been a different facility, but it was still exactly the same. Manticore. Up until this point he hadn't really known what he had gotten himself into. He was back in hell.

It was his fault, too. He had been too weak to leave behind a fellow soldier; he had brought her back. Fawn. Now here she was, instrumental in bringing back Manticore...

* * *

Fawn looked around from side to side, scrutinizing each individual of his most precious project, his 452-based X-series.

"Ma'am," one of the soldiers beside her said. She waved him off with one arm.

"Hold them in check," she ordered, and he motioned for his fellows to point their guns at the group in front of them while Fawn began to circle them.

"Does anybody want to tell me what happened here?" she asked. As soon as she had opened her mouth, as soon as Max had caught her glimpse from the corner of her eye, she felt the world go watery and dark around her. It was such a strange sensation. Max fought hard to not give in to the pull.

"Ma'am, two intruders were spotted; they were trying to instrumentalize us for their plan of taking down Manticore. They had to be eliminated. The threat is over, Ma'am. Waiting for your orders." It was the kid that shared most of Zack's DNA who had spoken, a leader, just like his older version.

"You killed them, 601?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Fawn sighed, then whirled around, suddenly annoyed. "Did you not have the order to protect 452 with your lives if need be?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I'm sorry," young Zack said and looked at her directly for the first time.

"You're sorry," she stated and looked down at her feet. She let her gaze wander over to where the two dead bodies lay and shook her head. If she had gotten here only a few minutes later, Max and Alec might have succeeded with their little ruse. Now they lay at her feet, dead. A strange sense of sorrow seized her momentarily. She remembered him, 494. She remembered his kind eyes as he had promised her to bring her back home. He should have killed her then and there. Too late now.

As for 452... Sandeman would not be particularly happy about that. He had a soft spot for her, still. But despite what most of the old Manticore squad had still believed to be true she wasn't needed to save humanity anymore. Sandeman had already seen to that. He had created her children to do the job...

"Alright," she eventually said, then raised her own small firearm and fired a single shot. 601 was instantly dead. "This should teach you all to take your orders more seriously in the future. Now clean this mess up. Then go to bed. You will all report back to duty tomorrow at 0400. You will be disciplined then."

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

It was over. For now. Alec lay in a bed that wasn't his and stared up at the ceiling, his mind numb.

It had worked. They had not been found out. Yet.

Now what?

He tried hard to stay focused and come up with a plan, but he couldn't shake off the images of their dead bodies. All he could do was lay there and wait for the morning, wait for the light. But that was hours away... He was grateful when suddenly he felt a warm body slip under thin covers with him, felt warm hands cling to him from behind. Warm breath started caressing his neck. Max. He gripped her hands tightly, and together they waited for the dawn.


	19. the end of the world

_A shout out to InsanityByDefinition! Thanks, IBD - And since it's 30 December today: I wish everyone a great start to 2013! - You guys ready for a super weird chapter?_

* * *

Logan had been prepared for a lot of things, including torture and death. He had been prepared for some of the worst physical pain in his life. But he hadn't been prepared for this.

Only an hour had passed since Fawn's troops had stormed into his holding cell, had grabbed him and Joshua and started a quick interrogation, to no avail. There was nothing either of them could say other than: they are gone. The one odd thing Logan had noticed back then was how Joshua hadn't once apologized or looked any of them in the eyes. Could it be that whatever had been done to him before was slowly waning? Could it be that he was, unbeknownst to their captors, slowly returning to his former self? Logan had tried to catch the Big Fella's glimpse a couple of times, without success. But despite the fact that it was probably stupid and weak of him to get his hopes up about anything in here, he had started to hope that Joshua was returning to normal while Alec and Max were on their way out of here.

For one short moment, he had believed there was yet real hope for them all.

Until Fawn came back.

He had not said anything to her. He had waited for her to do the talking. But minutes went by in which she merely stood there, staring down at him. Then, all of a sudden, she had ordered one of her goons to open the door to his cell. She had walked in there herself and had unchained him with a quick motion of her hands. Kneeling in front of him, she had lifted his chin a little, forcing him to look at her, look into the darkness of her eyes, and she had started smiling.

Logan had never felt so cold.

"You're free to go, Mr. Eyes Only. Since you can't walk by yourself, I'll send Roger here," she pointed to the soldier-type behind her, "to accompany you back to your... home."

He could only stare at her, unable to fight the strange pull she had had on him. It had barely registered with him what she was saying; he had had no idea what it meant. He hadn't _wanted_ to know what it meant.

Effortlessly, she had lifted him up to his feet, feet that refused to hold him. But she was tall enough to balance his weight for him. She had cocked her head a little, her smile still in place as she had handed him over to her dark companion, making Logan feel like a rag doll, not a living human being. Was he just a thing to her? Did it matter?

She had turned around and made to leave, motioning for Roger to get going too. As soon as she had looked away, Logan had felt his senses come back. Part of him had wanted to fight Roger, but he had known there was no use. Besides, she had said they were letting him go.

He had not even paid attention to Fawn anymore when she struck the final blow. It hit him so suddenly, so unprepared, that he could feel her words like an actual physical blow.

"They're dead, Cale. In case you were wondering. No coming back from it this time. - I would say I'm sorry, but we both know that's not the case. - Well, time for you to get on with your own life now. Don't even try to fight us. You'll lose."

With that she was gone, and Logan was shattered.

* * *

_A couple years earlier..._

"So... what are you, anyway?"

The tall brunette looked at the soldier in front of her and frowned. She had only met him a month ago, when they had started preparing their current mission, and already he was getting on her nerves. She didn't like people, not even if they were her own; she preferred solitude, the silence of her own thoughts, the occasional encounters with her prey.

"I am a soldier, just like you."

He smirked, an expression of _Touché_ more than a show of amusement. "I meant your cocktail. What's in your cocktail?" He was no longer looking at her when he asked that question, instead he was tending to his firearm, making sure it was ready and in place for when their target got into view.

"Shark, for one," she replied, surprising herself.

"Figures," he said. "I know a girl who has shark in her cocktail; she never sleeps, just like you."

"Is that so." It was not a question. She didn't really care, but she had learned about the importance of conversation - and fraternization.

"She's part cat, too. I mean, I think we all are, to an extent. Although... I can't detect it in you. Normally I can..." His voice faded as a door was opened a few feet from where they stood, waiting. It was not their target, just two guys of his security detail. She felt herself grow slightly nervous. They had been told it would be an easy job, requiring only two soldiers. The target usually traveled with just one bodyguard. Apparently not today, though...

She signed to her companion, but he had already seen them too and merely gave a half nod. Wordlessly they were debating on how best to proceed. They hadn't reached an agreement yet when the door opened again and their target, shielded by three - no, four more armed men walked out into the open.

If they wanted to complete their job, they'd have to get closer. Fast. Without further ado the two soldiers blurred into action, their lithe movements atuned to each other almost perfectly. Within seconds they had taken down most of their opponents. The target was mortally wounded, breathing his last red tinged breaths. It was over.

Except, it wasn't. Before they could retreat, she heard a shot being fired. Whirling around, she saw her fellow soldier snap the neck of the man who had just fired at her. Right then her chest exploded in pain.

The next thing she remembered was his eyes locking on hers. "I'm going to get you home," he said.

Her black eyes hefted on him she lay there, feeling her insides leak out. She didn't once blink as he lifted her up into his arms.

"Hang in there," he muttered as he carried her away, "Hang in there, soldier." What he should have done, though, was kill her.

She would forever be left wondering why he didn't.

* * *

_[The present.]_

Five days had passed without anyone noticing that 452 and 494 were still very much alive.

All of the transgenics present the night of the murders had been punished with solitary confinement, visits to PsyOps and reindoctrination, Max and Alec had been no exception.

After the first night, they hadn't yet seen each other again, until that morning. Max had been led out of her holding cell into what looked like a cafeteria, where she had spotted him sitting at a table with a couple of transgenic soldiers she hadn't seen before. "You may join your group now, 454. You've been cleared for duty," the man at her side said, then left without another word. For a moment she just stood there, taking in her surroundings. Over on the other side she could see people getting their trays filled with food. To her left were more of those heavily barred windows she had seen in the dorm room. Everything looked like someone had rebuilt Manticore.

A thought crossed Max's mind then: for the first time she wondered whether this facility had actually needed rebuilding. This had to be somewhere close to Portland. For all she knew the only cell that had ever gotten destroyed was the one she had destroyed herself. How many others were there? Would there ever be an end to all of this?

The thought boggled her mind, and she shook her head. Before she knew what she was doing she found herself on her way over to where Alec was sitting, oblivious to her presence as it seemed. She wondered whether she could risk being seen with him but figured that it might seem just as conspicuous if she avoided him. So she strutted over to his table with as much confidence in her gait as she could muster and sat down next to him. "Hi," she made without looking at him.

"You not gonna get anything to eat?" he asked, as if this was just another day at the office. Max turned to look at him, then at his plate. Something gray that looked like oatmeal had been put on his plate. It didn't look promising at all, but she was sure it was nutritious.

"Know what, why don't you have the rest of mine?" he offered, looking at her for the first time. Despite the short hair he still looked like himself. She was so relieved that she couldn't fight a small sad smile from flitting across her features. He smiled at her in return. "I know," he said, "It's awfully kind of me. I'm not normally known to share something as tasty as this here with anyone, 4-"

"54," she added and he nodded. So quietly that she almost didn't catch it, he muttered, "454 and 495; how very original of them. - Not sure they're actual designations at all."

As if by accident, her hand brushed his, and they exchanged a glance. "We need to get out of here."

"I know."

"But we can't trust anyone in here, not even the others in our dorm room - especially not them."

Alec bit his lip as he shoved his tray over to her side. "Eat."

"You need to eat, too."

"I had enough for now," he said.

She eyed him warily but decided not to argue. She took a spoonful of the gray mush and swallowed it, almost gagging on it, just as someone shouted from behind, "Unit Alpha, finish up. You are to follow me to the tanks in 5!"

"She shoveled in a few more spoons before the kid that looked like a young Krit brushed by her and Alec and whispered, "That's us, Alpha. You'd better not lag behind and draw attention to yourselves."

Alec rose next to her, nudging her elbow lightly. "Like your new hair cut, Princess," he said, smirking. Then he followed "Krit" without waiting for her.

Quickly, Max stood up, gathered the tray and put it on a little cart by the door. Then she, too, followed the rest of her new unit, already dreading what was waiting for them.

The tanks...

* * *

From the gallery above, he looked down on his precious creations. He watched them struggle against the water, then succumb. He watched as one of them died, feeling just a small pang. That one had always been the weakest of them all, anyway, in this series as well as in all the series before him. Even with 452's DNA to boost his own cocktail, the kid had not been strong enough.

Gradually, it dawned on him that maybe there was no such thing as perfection. This series was probably as close to it as he would ever get. They had the best chances of survival, chances that would soon be put to the test.

Sometimes he wondered about all the other creatures and what would become of them. He thought of Joshua - his first, and smiled. He hoped with all his heart that Joshua would survive, too.

But it had been a long time since he had stopped caring about humanity. Back in the day it had been the incentive behind all of this, behind Manticore: to help humanity survive. Then, the dynamics behind Manticore had gotten out of hand, he hadn't been able to stop the development. He hadn't been able to stop his son, either. There were just his creations now - creations he had wanted so desperately to perfect.

Maybe it was time to admit defeat, he thought.

Then he pressed the button to his left and closed his eyes as he heard the valves open wider. In his mind he could see what was happening. How the valves in all the remaining facilities were being opened at the same time. How water started flooding the hallways, the rooms. It would be a struggle of survival everywhere. Only the fittest would get out of it, ready for the end of the world.

Maybe 452's "children" would be among the survivors. He prayed for it as the water started soaking his clothes, as he waited for it all to be over.

The only thing he knew for certain was that he wasn't one of them.

* * *

_... I might get it into my head and rewrite all this. Or maybe not. I didn't plan it like this; it just kinda happened. - Thanks for reading!_


	20. 20

_I should know what's going on here, right? ummmm... awkward?  
_

* * *

They had been told to jump into the tanks and stand there motionless till the water rose above their heads. Even then, they were told to stay put. At some point the tanks had been closed with a cover of heavy titanium mesh that held down even those who, unconsciously, drifted to the surface.

Although everything in Alec rebelled against such treatment, he did not fight. He had to keep up his new persona as 495, a soldier who had no idea what freedom, a free will, meant. His lips pressed together, he sat and waited, holding his breath until he thought his lungs would burst. At the periphery, he saw another body drift upward, one of the kids.

These kids didn't even know how to fight for their own survival. They died without making a sound, without struggling.

Alec would not give up so quietly. He was about ready to give in to the painful pressure in his lungs, when finally, the cover was lifted and Alec could hear a pump starting to drain the tanks off water. With quick strong movements he propelled himself up to the surface, his first desperate intake of breath loud to his own ears. Around him, he saw more heads bobbing up and he looked for Max among them, but couldn't seem to see her.

He swam to the walls of the tank and raised himself up and out of the water in one quick motion, all the while looking for any Manticore officials. Strangely, he couldn't see any of them. No "instructors," no Max, just a sea of shorn heads bobbing in the water, and a few floating bodies. He had a strange sense of foreboding. Something wasn't right.

Then he saw it. Water coming out of huge valves to the far side of the building. What he had heard weren't pumps draining the tanks of water, it were gigantic valves that poured in even more water, not simply into the tanks, but into the entire room. What the hell was going on?

"Max," Alec called out. He didn't care anymore who heard him. "Max!"

"495, you should only address her as 454 now. You must not jeopardize her safety."

It was the kid who had told them where to go earlier. Alec turned to look at him. Immediately, the younger one fell silent when he saw the frown on Alec's face. "Jeopardize her safety? Well, I don't know about you, kiddo, but something tells me that it has already been jeopardized, don't you think? - Now go, get the others and let's find the way out of here. We gotta move quickly, or the pressure on the doors will be too heavy to open them."

"What about 454 - I mean..."

"Go!"

"Yes, Sir!"

With that, the kid was gone, so quickly, that Alec was startled for a moment. Something about these newer soldiers was different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was as if they were even faster than his own series.

Perfection.

Getting rid of the flaws...

He shook his head to clear it of those strange thoughts. He had to concentrate on what was important now, finding Max. He called her again, feeling a sense of dread wash over him.

Finally he detected her. She sat, hidden from view, behind one of the tanks, cradling a lifeless body. Even from a distance he could see that the sheen on her face was not from the water alone. With a pang he noticed she was crying. Her shoulders were shaking ever so slightly. Alec's heart ached for her. Watching her from a distance, he felt as if time stood still. The water was nothing but white noise, drowning out the world and he was back in that moment when he had first seen her cry like that, way back when she had told him about her brother, Ben.

He couldn't remember ever having seen her cry like that, since. She hadn't even been this upset when he had forced her to leave Logan and Joshua behind.

"Max," he whispered, eventually breaking into a run to meet her. By then the water had started to tear at his feet. It was rising way too quickly. Max didn't seem to care.

* * *

When he got to her, she could barely lift her face to meet his gaze. Her arms were heavy with the kid's body. It was so cold already, the heat drained away by the water, and by death.

"Look how young he is," she whispered, trying hard to stop sobbing. She felt Alec's hand on her shoulder, his fingers on her cheeks as he was wiping away her tears. "And yet he is so much older than Jack ever was."

"I know," Alec said, although, truth be told, she knew he didn't.

"Why do they always have to die? It's not fair." The pain was almost unbearable. Everything was so unbearable. This time, she wasn't just back in Manticore as an adult. This time, it felt like she was reliving her worst childhood memories. With these kids that looked like her siblings... with "Jack" dying right in front of her, she was so painfully reminded of what she had lost in the past.

"It's just not fair," she sobbed, looking up at Alec now. She was startled to see so much pain in his eyes, too.

"I know," he muttered again. He bent down and gently unclasped her hands from their grip on the kid's body. She let it happen. Part of her knew to trust him, even though another part, deeper down, wanted to fight him tooth and nail to hold onto the kid, to try and get him out of there.

"Come on now, Max. We have to go. You gotta let him go now." He looked at her imploringly. "Please, Max. I can't go without you."

There was so much sincerity in his tone, so much atypical pleading in his voice that eventually, she shook off her sadness and pain and forced herself to function again. For him.

Their gazes locked. Alec was standing right in front of her now, while she was still sitting next to the body. Without looking at it, she extended her hand and let Alec hoist her up. He smiled at her, then gave her a light kiss on her shorn head. "I'm sorry, Maxie," was all he said, then, without letting go of her hand, he blurred forward to the door and she followed.

* * *

Logan had a lot of time to think on his way home. The man who had been ordered to get him there, had shoved him into the back of a van without a word. Then he had revved the engine like there was no tomorrow. Now they were already halfway back to Seattle and the ordinary wondered how he had managed to find himself in such a mess. Max was gone.

He had barely had time to realize that she hadn't loved him for a very long time, that in fact _he_ hadn't loved _her_ in quite some time either, when she had been taken from him. It couldn't be true. First Asha, now Max; Alec. And what would become of Joshua?

It was too painful to even think about what might have happened. Fawn hadn't exactly been very forthcoming. Telling him that Max and Alec were dead was all she had done. The circumstances, whether they suffered, whether it was quick - she didn't tell him anything about that. It was probably for the better, because he was sure he could never be happy again in his life if he had to live with mental images of Max being tortured to death. Then again, he was quite certain he'd never be completely happy again anyway.

Strange, he thought. How death could change someone's feelings so completely yet again. He was quite convinced that he would have learned to treat Max as a good friend and nothing more. Eventually, he would have gotten over even the last bit of romantically tinged affection for her. He had been ready to move on when they had last seen each other. Honestly, he had been ready for a new someone in his life.

Now though? He wasn't so sure anymore.

Maybe it was true what they said, that you never really know what you got until it's gone. For good.

Max. Dead.

Another thought formed in his mind, then. Unbidden. He remembered Max showing him pictures once, of a dead body, to show him what she was capable of - had already been capable of even as a child. To prove a person's death to him.

Proof.

Fawn hadn't shown him any pictures, or even better, actual bodies. It would have been easy for her, it would have made more sense.

Proof. She hadn't had any proof of her claim that they were truly dead.

Because they weren't. Max was still alive. And so was Alec.


	21. Water

_ready for more, anyone?  
_

* * *

_Four days ago..._

It was over. The threat was over. She had done her job. She had not only retrieved the file 494 had stolen and that he could have used to expose them. She had also captured him and the precious 452. That they were dead was a little inconvenient, since they hadn't yet gotten all information out of them. Still, it was probably for the better.

She was sure the old man wouldn't think of it that way. A sigh escaped her at the thought because she was already on her way to his office. He had summoned her after he had learned of his precious creation's death.

But the way she saw it, they could finally proceed as planned. They could get more Manticoreans into all important government institutions and take over the rein from the ordinaries. Once that was completed, they could get rid of their S1W tools. These people had been useful, but soon would no longer be needed. They couldn't be kept around afterward. She had to get rid of them, even if it would be a tedious and somewhat annoying job. She should get started with a plan for that.

First she had to talk to the old man, though.

The knock on the door was immediately answered with a loud "Come in," and she straightened her back before entering the room.

"Sir."

"Fawn," he said, using the name she had been given a while ago. It didn't mean anything to her, other than that it had been useful for dealing with the ordinaries. He was one of them.

"So it's true," he said.

"Sir?" Never answer a questions that hasn't been asked. One of the things she had learned very early on in her training.

"452, Max, and 494, Alec, they were terminated by the M-series?"

"Yes, Sir." She looked at him, an old man with gray hair and many wrinkles, still standing proud and tall despite his age. Yet now he looked as old as his years for the very first time. Involuntarily, she added an "I'm sorry, Sir." She didn't know where that had come from.

He nodded, then, and looked at her.

"Thank you, Fawn," he said as he fell back into his chair, heavily. "I take it you made sure it was them?"

"Sir?"

His gaze had taken on a different quality, intense. She had to fight the urge to look away. "If I'm not mistaken, the M-series had the order to protect Max with their lives, is that correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"So, did you make sure it was them? The bodies?"

"I saw to it that the bodies and all individuals of the M-series got examined."

"By who?"

"Sir?" Fawn was a little flustered. She hadn't been prepared for these kind of questions. It annoyed her. She should have foreseen it.

"Who examined the bodies and the Ms?"

"I had the M-series taken to the PsyOps and reindoctrination section. The bodies were disposed of at the morgue."

"Disposed?"

"Yes, Sir. I had them examined and then..." Suddenly, she felt hot and cold at the same time.

The old man was dangerously quiet. "You disposed of the most valuable soldier we ever created. Did you at least think to tell the forensics to take as many samples of her DNA as possible and freeze it?"

"Sir..."

"Did you?"

"I..."

"Did. You."

Despite the fact that she was a genetically enhanced superior being, young and healthy and in her prime while he was just an old man and an ordinary she was suddenly anxious.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I did not." Termination. It was the only consequence. He would have her terminated after all.

Instead of calling in a team to retract and terminate her immediately, he asked another question, his voice eerily calm. "When the Ms were examined, were there any PsyOps involved? Or just the staff of ordinaries?"

"PsyOps, Sir. We wanted to get into their minds as soon as possible, to get an accurate picture of the previous events."

She was prepared for the worst, then she heard him snort. Snort! What had she said? What had she not seen? What was it? She wanted to ask him but she was too afraid. "Sir?"

Her only answer was a full out laugh, followed by one incredulous, "Accurate?" The rest was drowned out by more laughing.

Maybe the old man had gone crazy, Fawn wondered.

* * *

[The present]

"What's going on, Sir?"

Alec, still clutching Max's hand, looked to the kid that was trying to run through the water-filled hallways beside him. "Don't Sir me, kiddo. - And I have no idea. All I know is that we better start to get the hell outta here before this whole place fills up with water."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Dude, what did I just tell you?"

"Sir?"

"Stop with the Sir already. It's Alec, alright? Alec. And this is Max, not Ma'am. Geez!"

"Yes, S-Alec."

He rolled his eyes, then concentrated back on the task at hand: getting out of the building.

Max, beside him, was still oddly quiet. At least she was just as quick as he was. Ever since their trip to PsyOps and reindoctrination, she had been better. No trace left of her injury, or the toxin. They hadn't yet talked about those few days down there. But if his own examination was anything to go by, someone had made sure that her injuries were treated and then forgotten.

There had been at least one PsyOps transgenic present that had meddled in his examination, making the doctors forget that they had seen an only half healed wound on his torso. He didn't know why the PsyOps had helped him - helped them - but without that help nobody would have believed that they were who they claimed to be. Especially in Max's case. Her perfect DNA should have given her away immediately. Thinking about it, Alec wondered whether the people in forensics had been PsyOps-ed too. They must have been. Nothing else made any sense.

Before he could think about it any more, he felt Max tug at his arm when they passed by a staircase leading down. "There's people down there, Alec. Innocent people. Some of them helped us! - We gotta get them outta there. We-"

She already knew it was too late. Part of her wanted to believe otherwise, part of her wanted to go down there and do something for them. But all they could see was more water washing up the stairs, gurgling upward, out of the hallways downstairs.

"It's too late, Max," Alec said. She could see him clench his jaw, the muscles twitching. "Come on, we gotta go get Josh and Logan."

"We can't just-"

"Whoevere is down there, they're already dead. The lower floors must already be flooded."

Max wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. They had to think about their friends; they had to get out of there themselves. Briefly, their gazes locked, then she nodded, "I know," she whispered.

Without another word, they both ran past the staircase, continuing on.

* * *

Joshua was dreaming. Of father. His legs were twitching in his sleep; a yowling sound escaped him at some point, then he was quiet again.

After all this time, he had finally seen him again a few days ago. But while he had been overjoyed, father had looked so incredibly sad. He had touched Joshua's cheek lightly, lovingly, but his smile hadn't quite reached his eyes before it died. He had apologized, Joshua didn't know what for. He had felt the strong urge to console father somehow, but it hadn't really worked. In the end, the old man had told him to stay with the ordinary. He had locked him in with Logan. Joshua adored father too much to question the move, he had been certain that father's intentions were good as usual.

It had been Logan who had dared ask Sandeman why he did it. Joshua was his creation, after all, he was Manticore. Why would he lock him up with him, Eyes Only, the ordinary?

The old man had merely smiled at that. Nodding to Logan he had said, "Things change, Mr. Cale. I know Joshua considers you a friend. For what is to come I want him to be with a friend..." Then he had left, ignoring Logan's following stream of questions.

"Come back!" Logan had called out at some point, sounding desperate even to himself. "Come back! - What is to come? What are you talking about? What are you talking about?!"

But then they had taken Logan away, and they hadn't freed Joshua in the process. Now here he was, sleeping on the cold floor, dreaming of better days, when he was gradually woken up by a growing feeling of wetness seeping into his clothes.

Sleepily, he opened his eyes, still a bit dazed when he noticed the water on the ground. Instantly, he was wide awake. What was going on? Frowning, he rushed over to his cell door, but it was closed tight. He tried shaking it, rammed it with his full weight. It wouldn't budge.

As he watched the water rise at a rate that was disconcerting, to say the least, he couldn't help but start whining. He had to get out of here or he would drown... He didn't know how to do it, though.

Max would know. But Max wasn't there...

* * *

"Isn't it strange?" Alec wondered aloud and threw a glance at Max, "The water?"

Only a few minutes had passed in which they, along with their new unit, had made their way up another floor, just in time before the lower floors were entirely consumed by the water.

"What? Max was only half listening. She was too preoccupied with finding the way to the holding cells where they had left Logan and Joshua. At least the Alphas proved to be an obedient little group that seemed to do whatever Alec ordered them to do and she didn't have to worry about them, too.

They were currently roaming the building, trying to locate more survivors. So far without any luck.

"I mean," Alec continued, without slowing his pace, "'our' Manticore had this fire mechanism that burned down everything. That way they didn't leave any traces of what they had been doing. But water? Ya think this is something different?"

"Alec," Max sighed, annoyance creeping up inside of her. "I'm a little busy trying to save my ass from drowning here, and find Josh and Logan, so, if you have to say something, just say it!"

Her voice sounded stronger, more like Max. There was even a little snark back in her tone. Despite the dire situation, Alec couldn't help but smile at that.

"I know. But just think about it for a sec, Max. This doesn't at all look like something Manticore would do, right? The water - that's not Manticore trying to destroy itself; someone else is doing it."

Dumbfounded, Max stopped in her tracks, whirling around to face him.

"You are saying someone is attacking Manticore?" she asked. It was not really a question. Looking up, she could see it in his eyes, how certain he was, and suddenly, strangely so was she.

"That's _exactly_ what I'm saying, Max."

Thoughts started whirling around in her mind, chasing each other.

Someone was attacking Manticore.

That was a good thing, or it should have been. Yet that someone was also killing innocent people. They didn't differentiate between the institution per se and its victims. They went for a state of tabula rasa.

They were trying to kill her and Alec, too, and this time, she had no idea who "they" even were. She had no idea who or what she was fighting against. At least with Manticore, she had always known that much.


	22. 22

_thanks everyone for the feedback! (also to _grandma406_ to who I can't reply individually__) - But let's continue, shall we?  
_

* * *

From outside, the building looked like an inconspicuous one story construction, a small factory perhaps, or just a storage space. But there would be deeper levels, hidden underground, invisible to the unsuspecting passerby. Mole had seen his fair share of Manticore facilities, he knew when he came across one.

Innocent looking buildings fenced in by barbed wire? Not so innocent at all. As he got out of the car, absentmindedly chewing on yet another cigar, he already knew that they were at the right place.

They would find them here, Josh, Max, and Alec.

A few days had gone by since he, Dix, and Logan had taken off on a car ride from the ordinary's house, following the few clues Logan had gained from his ride home in the back of a van, blindfolded. It hadn't been easy for him to remember the way, and Mole swallowed drily at the memory of how, in the end, they had basically located the place by sheer luck.

Luck, for a Manticore trained soldier like him, was not an option. Either you knew your stuff, or you were in for a world of trouble. Yet here they were. "Who says we aren't still, though," he grumbled, annoyed with himself, making Dix and Logan squint at him suspiciously.

"Come again?" Logan asked, but Mole only waved a hand at him. "Never mind."

He took the key out of the ignition and turned to Logan. "Time to get this under way," he said. The other man nodded, then spoke into his radio. "Luke, this is it," he announced, "the operation is a go."

The operation. Mole closed his eyes briefly, then got out of the car. Operation _Bring Down Manticore Point Two_ as Dix and Luke had jokingly called it. Mole had glared at them for it, even though he had to admit that they had a point.

He couldn't believe that up until a mere few days ago he had still enjoyed his peace in Arizona. Now he was back here, back in the usual mess - brought back by none other than Princess Smartass, who had gotten himself into a very tight spot once again.

Come to think of it, he shouldn't have been too surprised that his Arizona stint would remain that, a mere stint, because of Alec. The kid had always had a way to get himself in trouble... The thing that would forever remain somewhat of a mystery to Mole, though, was the fact that he wasn't the only one who had come back.

After Logan had been brought back to Seattle he had gotten word to the few transgenics that were still living in TC, knowing that they, in turn, would get word to all those that had gone to ground. If what Logan said was true, Manticore was still out there, growing stronger; now they had even recaptured some of their own. Mole had been in the middle of burying the girl when Logan had called him. The ordinary had rambled something about Max and Alec being dead, yet possibly not dead. A ruse, Fawn. At first Mole had thought the guy had finally lost it. Then Logan had mentioned Manticore being on the rise again, just like Alec had told him only a couple days earlier. He had also mentioned the old man, Sandeman; or Father, as Joshua would have said.

Logan had given a rough account of where he had been held, surprisingly specific for an ordinary. Not for the first time Mole wondered why they had even bothered to keep the guy alive at all. What Logan suspected, though, seemed a plausible enough explanation. Those people had probably wanted to instrumentalize him for their purposes. They knew that he, _Eyes Only_, would let the other transgenics know about Max and Alec, that he would tell them what had happened. Quite possibly, they had actually wanted him to tell the freed transgenics that their supposed leaders were dead, that all they got left was Manticore.

Clever bastards, Mole had to give them that. They knew that deep down, almost every transgenic out there had an inbuilt sense of following orders, following someone's lead. Manticore probably figured that, if left out in the world without a proper leader, the "fugitives" would eventually return to the fold sooner rather than later.

Mole couldn't let that happen. That's why he was here now, Logan and Dix by his side, Luke back at TC, overseeing everything from there, helping Mole delegate the newly assembled troops of returned former TC inhabitants.

Almost everyone had come back. To save Max and Alec. To save Josh. To save their freedom._  
_

To bring down Manticore for good.

Mole nodded to himself, tossed his cigar to the ground and looked to the other two. "Let's do this," he grumbled. "Time to take these bastards down." He turned to the trunk, extracted his machine gun, shouldered it almost leisurely and jogged over to what seemed to be the main entrance.

* * *

"Sir!" A tall light-haired male appeared by Alec's side out of nowhere, just as he and Max had reached the door to the room in which they had left Logan and Joshua. While Max was already busy trying to pry her way inside, Alec turned to glare at the kid briefly. "Dude," he started, ready to tell this one what he had told at least five of them by then. He was not a "Sir," he didn't want to be. He was just Alec now. Was that so hard for them to understand?

When he saw the look in the other one's eyes, though, he paused and swallowed the rest of what he had wanted to say. The kid looked almost forlorn, fearful; like he desperately needed someone else to take matters into their hands, like he thought that someone was Alec. So, with a sigh, all he said was, "What?" Before returning to the task at hand, trying to open the door.

"Sir, all the rooms we were able to open had already been flooded. No survivors."

Joshua, Alec thought. He could have been in one of those rooms... A brief flicker in his eyes was the only hint that the info affected him at all. "What about the outside doors? Windows?" he asked while he and Max continued fighting with the door. The water had risen almost up to their chests, making it more difficult for them to get it to open.

"Logan?" Max was calling out, again not getting a response from inside. She sounded fearful and Alec knew why, of course. If the water was this high out here, it was probably even worse inside; and since Logan didn't have the use of his legs chances were that he was already dead. With any luck, though, he could still hold himself up by swimming. Provided he was no longer chained to the wall...

"Are there any windows in this darn building?" Alec blurted out. He didn't even notice the desperation that had crept into his tone.

"The doors are locked airtight, Sir. No windows. A few of us have started to work on what seems to be the front door. So far it hasn't budged."

"Any tools you guys could use? Weapons?"

"No, Sir."

"Alec!" Max called out, interrupting her Logan-shouts briefly to stare over at him. Their gazes locked for only a second or two, yet instantly, she felt a bit calmer.

"You," she suddenly addressed the kid, ignoring his exchange with Alec, "get over here and pull. On three."

"Uh..." he made, but followed her order at once.

"One! Two! Three!"

As the door finally opened, more water poured out. Instinctively, Max, who was clinging to the doorframe, reached out to grab Alec's hand with hers before the water could take him with it. They could only watch as the kid that had helped them was sucked under, then emerged again at the other end of the hallway.

"Try the ceiling!" Max suddenly called out to him and the other kids, surprising Alec. It had seemed like she hadn't even been paying attention to anything they had said, yet here she was, coming up with their best shot yet at getting out of the place. The water was almost high enough now to easily reach the ceiling. The water that was used to kill them all might just turn into the one thing that could save their lives.

Alec was jolted out of his thoughts when Max tugged at his arm. She bit her lip, staring at him long enough for him to notice how afraid she really was. If Logan was dead, he couldn't let her be the one to find him. If he was still alive, she wouldn't be able to get him out. It had to be Alec. Because of the virus...

He wanted to joke about it. Instead, he simply smiled at her, giving her hand a quick squeeze. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

"Alec..." she whispered, her eyes wide. He didn't think he'd ever seen her this scared before.

"Just gimme a minute, Maxie..."

* * *

She was reluctant to let go of his hand. But she did. He smiled at her, then all she could see was how he swam into the room with a few strong strokes of his arms. She felt the urge to close her eyes and caught herself actually doing it.

A minute went by, then another. "Alec?"

All she could hear was the beating of her heart, and the water sloshing around her. Distantly, she heard the kids work on the ceiling, but nothing from inside the room.

Then: "Li'l fella?"

Right, she thought. Joshua. She hadn't dared think about him all this time because deep down she knew he must be gone. Manticore had reindoctrinated him after all, he had surely been with the rest of them in one of the rooms deeper down.

"Alec said li'l fella okay? Li'l fella alright?"

What? she thought, unaware that she hadn't said it out loud. At first it didn't quite register with her what she had heard; _who._

Joshua. He was alive, he was here.

"Dude, you're heavy. Come on, big fella, I'm pretty sure it should be in your genes to be able to swim on your own. I mean, the dog in your cocktail and all?"

"Joshua not swim," she heard him say but couldn't see him, nor Alec, yet. Paralyzed, she clung to the doorframe, waiting. Her tongue refused to work. They had found the big fella, he was okay.

"Geez, dude. There's cat in Max's and my cocktail and _we_ swim. Even though cats are not too fond of water, y'know? So _you_ should definitely be swimming. Dogs _love_ the water, Josh! - Okay, so there's also shark in Maxie's cocktail, so it would be kind of weird if she couldn't swim, but..."

Max caught herself smiling. Alec was rambling; Joshua was alive.

Then her thoughts returned to Logan. Neither Alec nor Joshua had mentioned him, she hadn't heard him say anything... She wasn't sure she could handle the truth. Before she could find the courage to ask about it, Alec, with Joshua right behind him, came into view. The big fella's arms were wrapped tightly around Alec's neck. He was looking straight at Max now, rolling his eyes. "Looks like we needn't have worried about the Log," he finally announced. Max almost let go of the doorframe. She sucked in a relieved breath, listening as Alec continued, "Joshua here - or should I say Scaredy-Dog - just informed me that they took Logan away a few days ago. Apparently they brought him home..."

She bit her lip, trying not to show how relieved she was, how sure she had been that he would be dead when they found him. Annoyingly, she felt tears well in her eyes, and she couldn't quite hold them back.

"Don't cry, li'l fella. Logan alright. Joshua alright. Alec - is Alec. You alright. It's gonna be fine," Joshua said, not letting go of Alec. The two of them had finally reached her, Alec clinging to the door now, too. He was smiling. With his free hand, he touched her cheek, gently wiping it without commenting on her tears.

"It's just, I thought..."

"I know," he muttered. "You can't lose another person in your life."

"I know you don't understand, him being an ordinary and all. We aren't even like that anymore, really, Alec. But I..." She was the one rambling now, the words just tumbling out of her mouth. She wanted to stop, but she couldn't. She was going to blurt it all out, the whole thing behind her relationship with everyone, with Logan in particular. It was forcing its way out of her, now of all times, here of all places...

Before she could say anymore, though, she felt Alec's hand at her lips. He didn't say anything, just looked at her, his eyes unshuttered, wide open. "I know," he repeated. "I know." Just that, and she believed him. For the first time she really believed that someone did understand, that _he_ understood. Briefly, she touched his face in return, smiling now, then they allowed the moment to pass and returned back to the task at hand.

They had to get out of here, stat, or they would drown...


	23. The order

_this one was putting up a bit of a fight...  
_

* * *

Nobody had tried to stop Mole on his way to the entrance. It was strange. It made his skin crawl. If you could just walk up to a Manticore facility without at least someone trying to ask what you were doing there, something was seriously wrong.

As he positioned himself in front of the door, his gun armed and ready, he looked to the sides where he knew other TC trangenics were hiding, waiting. Given the fact that they hadn't had much time, they had still managed to come up with decent enough backup, he thought. Yet none of them had the slightest idea what they were getting themselves into.

"Alright," Mole said out loud, forcing himself to stay focused on the task at hand. Then he raised his gun and used it to knock on the door. "Open up!" he yelled, "You got a visitor!"

Still no reaction. Mole frowned. This started to feel ridiculous. What if this _was_ nothing but a mere storage space? What if he had led them all here and there was nothing there?

He squinted. He turned around again, taking in the whole perimeter. No, he thought, this was Manticore. Whatever was the reason for them to let him walk up to their door unquestioned, it couldn't be good. Something was definitely off about all this.

Barely had he thought that, when he felt the ground ever so slightly shift beneath him. He looked down and noticed something strange: it looked like the dirt around the building was wet. Furrowing his brow, Mole looked to the sky although he already knew that it wasn't raining. In fact, it hadn't been raining for quite a while. To make sure, he looked to where he had just come from and saw that only a few feet from where he stood the ground was still dry.

"What the..." He didn't have time to finish his exclamation when suddenly all hell broke lose.

* * *

"Ma'am. Something is going on over at the base."

Fawn had been lost in thought for only a moment when the young soldier's words jolted her back to the present. Leafing through the file she had retrieved from the now dead infiltrator, she didn't even look up when she replied with a sharp, "What?"

"The base, Ma'am, we lost contact to the base."

Suddenly, she did look up. "What do you mean, you lost contact?" She had no time for this. She had to delegate Manticore's taking over the government in Washington, a task that had to be finished by the end of the week, in unison with the other subsidiaries taking over control in their respective states. Right now things were not exactly going as planned. Seattle, for one, proved to be a problem, and so did Olympia.

"We got no signals anymore," the soldier explained, "The lines are all dead."

She frowned. "Did you send out a team? Any intel, yet?"

The kid stared at her, looking scared under his mask of obedience. "I... should I have sent out a team?"

"Should you have sent out a team..." Fawn rolled her eyes, instantly annoyed. She didn't like this new type of soldier; she should have just stuck with the X5s. But she had wanted to make it up to the old man by making him feel good about his pet project. So she had brought a few of his newest creations along with her. These young soldiers were a disappointment, though, to say the least. She knew what the old man had tried to do, she knew how much he'd valued them, but in Fawn's opinion, the entire series proved to be an epic fail.

The precious DNA of precious 452 had not made the Ms any more perfect. On the contrary. It might have helped in reducing the junk-DNA in their genetic make up. But she couldn't quite pinpoint how or _if_ that actually showed. (Maybe it didn't and maybe that wasn't the point, but something in her prevented her from pursuing that thought any further.)

"Ma'am?"

Learning from their experiences with the crazies - 493 and his twin came to mind, they had further tweaked the Ms DNA, making them more obedient, less prone to go rogue. Less human, Fawn couldn't help but think. In itself that wasn't a bad thing, yet it seemed like even though physically, they were now very close to perfection, they were no longer able to function on their own. They needed orders; without them, they seemed almost lost.

"Ma'am."

By taking away those parts of their DNA that had - in some cases - turned their older versions into rogues, the Manticore scientists had eliminated most of their capacity to function alone and make their own decisions, take matters into their own hands. Effectively, they had taken away their free will...

Clearly, none of these stupid idiots had understood the concept of the perfect soldier. It made Fawn angry, for wasn't that what Manticore was supposedly all about? Sadly, Sandeman hadn't seen it either. He had been too preoccupied with his big plan of saving humanity. Fawn stifled a laugh, startling the soldier who was still waiting for her orders.

"Ma'am..."

Frustrated, she sighed. "Just get your fellow Ms and go back there, take a look around. Then report back to me. Be careful. Don't do anything unless I tell you to." Fawn grinned involuntarily. The soldier wouldn't do anything unless he told him to anyway, the order was redundant.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He was gone before she could say any more; so eager and obedient.

* * *

By the time Max, Alec and Joshua got to where the others had managed to make a hole in the ceiling, using nothing but the legs of chairs and their bare hands, the water had risen to a point where Max had to slightly tilt her head to be able to breathe and prevent water from getting in her mouth.

They needed to get out of there, STAT. Quickly, she busied herself working side by side with this crew of young faced soldiers, hacking away at the ceiling, just like the others. She didn't flinch as the material tore her skin open, the pain barely registered with her.

For a moment, her gaze met Alec's, and he grinned at her. Like this was nothing, like this was just another adventure.

"Ma'am, I don't think we're gonna make it." The girl who seemed to be Tinga's clone suddenly addressed Max. They were working right next to each other and Max could feel the girl give up, all tension seemed to leave her body. Max got a curious feeling of worry, so intense that it almost overwhelmed her. She couldn't help but gently touch the other girl's face and assure her that it was going to be fine.

She felt connected to her, maybe even responsible. Max frowned, a little weirded out by these almost motherly emotions. It was probably her usual urge to help fellow transgenics, the "Manticore Samaritan" in her as Alec had dubbed it. Or was it more than that? Did it have anything to do with what they had said, about them having been modeled after her, after them? She had never quite felt like this when it came to the other clones...

She risked a glance in Alec's direction again. Did he feel like that, too? Like he should take care of these kids?

She was watching him disappear halfway through a hole above him before she finally returned her focus back to the girl.

"It's Max," she said, "And yes we are going to make it. Listen, girl - what's your name?"

"We don't have individual designations, Ma'am-"

That startled Max. No individual designations? How did she not notice that before? How had Manticore differentiated them? But she didn't say any of that, all she asked was, "Not your designation, what's your _name?_ Like, what did your fellows call you?"

The girl looked even more lost than before, making Max sigh. "Alright," she announced, just as she heard Alec call out, "We're almost through! Come on, Big Head, get up here with me! Don't look like that, this is not an invitation for some frisky business away from the crowd. I could simply use some help with the freakin' roof. Now get up here."

Without being able to quite look at the girl beside her anymore, with the water almost as high as the ceiling, she said, "How do you like Ting?" The pain of memory mixed with the dull throb in her hands and arms for just a moment before she made her brain shut it out. "Now see Alec over there? He's almost made it through. Just keep doing what you're doing, and soon we'll get you all out of here."

"Okay," the girl said. Her mouth filled with water, and she spat it out. "Okay," Max echoed her and smiled for the other one's sake. Like Alec had smiled at her before... Max bit her lip, thinking about it. He had only smiled for her; of course...

She had no time to think about it any more, because right then, she heard him exclaim, "We're through! Everyone, move! Let's get the hell outta here!"

"Thank goodness," she mumbled under her breath, allowing herself to rest for just a moment. She got aware of the pain in her arms then. Looking down, she saw how raw they looked. But she had to shut out the pain a little while longer. Until Alec and Josh and the kids were all out of the building.

"Quick," she said, pushing Ting forward, to the opening, "Get up there. It's almost over now." The girl looked uncertain and Max just nodded reassuringly. "Go!"

"No, Ma'am, you should go first."

"It's alright, I'll be right behind you." From the corner of her eye Max saw Alec hoist Joshua up through the hole, the big fella struggling a little helplessly, sputtering and spitting out water all the while. "You can do it, big fella. Come on! Almost there..." she heard Alec cajole their friend. He sounded carefree, like he was enjoying the action, but she could detect the urgency in his tone, too.

When Joshua had vanished completely out of her sight, she saw Alec's figure emerge again, holding out his hand to the next person.

"No, Sir. You and 452 should go first," the kid Alec had dubbed Big Head said.

"Yeah, right." Alec grinned, still holding out his hand. "Come on. Next!"

Max was still trying to push Ting closer to the opening, but all of a sudden, she found herself being pushed forward instead. "What-"

The kids had built a circle around her. "No," she said, "What are you doing?" She couldn't help it, her instincts told her to lash out at them, to fight them as they were closing in on her. She didn't understand what was happening. They didn't fight back, but they also didn't let her go, until she found herself right underneath the opening in the ceiling. Light shone down as she suddenly stared up into Alec's face. He was looking as bewildered as she felt.

"Alec," she called out.

"Max, what's happening?" he asked, as he held out his hand to her. She was reluctant to grab it. She wanted to make sure the others were all safe first. But again, her instincts proved to be stronger, and so she threw up one arm and grabbed Alec's. Instantly, the pain was there. She almost let go.

She did let go when she suddenly saw the raw flesh of Alec's arm that her fingers had dug into. But he kept holding onto her, using both his hands now. Looking up, she saw that Josh was in turn holding onto Alec, securing his position.

"What's happening?" he repeated, just as she felt herself being lifted up not only by him but by the kids as well.

When she was finally out of the water, she came to a stand right beside him. No way would she climb all the way up to the roof without first making sure the kids were alright. Still not understanding what was going on, she called down to the kids, "Okay, we're safe. Now it's your turn, come on."

Big head looked up at her, then, with a determined expression. "Don't worry about us, Ma'am. You need to get out first. We need to make sure you're safe."

"But we _are..."_ she helplessly stated as it suddenly dawned on her what this was all about. "The order," she muttered.

"What?" Alec looked at her. She exchanged a quick glance with him, noticing the glaring alarm in his eyes, when Big Head spoke again.

"Yes, Ma'am. Max," he said, suddenly sounding sure of himself. Looking down at them, Max saw that they all seemed more like soldiers again. The fear was gone, the insecurity had made room for determination. "We were ordered to protect you with our lives. And that's what we are going to do. You have to go. Now. Don't wait for us. You cannot be in our company for much longer. Soon, someone will show up. We all carry sensors inside us. We're easily traceable. We'd compromise your safety."

"Geez, kid. That's crazy talk," Alec blurted out, unaware that he was still holding Max's hand. She felt his fingers tighten their grasp. "We can talk about that later. We can get those sensors out of you, and-"

"No, Sir. You can't. They're embedded in our heads, retracting them would kill us."

"Then we'll find a way to shut off their signal, or at least block it..." Alec was clutching at straws. Gone was his former laid-back tone. Now he sounded desperate. Max tightened her hold on his hand.

"It won't work. - Please, Sir, Ma'am. You have to go."

Max looked at him, at the girl she had called Ting. She didn't look lost anymore. She looked at all of them, holding themselves up in the water, their shorn heads bobbing a little. There wasn't much time left... "Promise us you'll save yourselves once we're gone."

There was just a second's hesitation before Big Head said, "We promise."

Hot tears were welling up in her eyes, almost blinding her, yet she tried to smile at him. "Alright," she murmured. Then she looked to Alec and nodded. Without waiting another minute, without a word of goodbye, they blurred up to the roof and started running, Joshua right by their side.

Max wanted to believe that the kids would try and get out of the building now. But she didn't dare look behind her, because deep down she knew they wouldn't. There had been so much of her big brother in this kid, Big Head. She had always known when Zack had lied, too.

"Kids not coming?" Joshua asked, looking around worriedly, when they got to the end of the roof.

"No, big fella. It's only us now," Alec said, and Max was glad that she didn't have to be the one telling the big guy.

They came to a halt at the very edge and looked down, preparing themselves to jump when they suddenly felt the entire building groan and shift beneath them. Alarmed, Max looked to Alec, then to Joshua.

"Jump!" Alec called out, and Max did. She looked to her right side, where Joshua was holding onto her hand, jumping with her, then she looked to her left, where Alec was already in mid-jump as well, crouching like a cat in flight. preparing for the ground.

Her feet had barely touched down when she saw the ground move beneath her as the whole buidling vanished in the ground. "Run!" someone shouted. Briefly she thought it had been Mole. Then she started running.

* * *

When the kid was gone, Fawn took out her cell. She had to focus back on the task at hand. Whatever was going on over at the base would have to wait. Barely had she finished her first call with her Seattle contact, when her phone started ringing; no caller ID.

"Yes?"

_"It's over,"_ a voice told her. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "Who is this?"

_"The base is gone. You will be next. Then the rest of your abominations..."_

Standing up straight she looked around as if by doing so she could detect the person on the other end. All she could see, though, were the ruins of the Town Hall and a few scattered people walking past. None of them had a phone.

"Even if you are right and the base _is_ gone, do you even know how many of us are still out there? Not even counting the escapees? Do you know who you are fighting?" she asked calmly, not in the least perturbed by his words.

_"Do you even know who_ you_ are fighting?"_

The call was disconnected before she had the chance to reply. For a moment, she wasn't sure what to think of it. A little sheepishly, she looked around again, allowing her gaze to rest on the Town Hall. The city was theirs now, the Portlandians just didn't know it yet. There was no way anyone could ever stop them now.

They were everywhere.


	24. escape, and?

_We're getting there..._

* * *

It was over. They were out.

Panting, Max came to a halt right in front of the van she had easily identified as Logan's. Through the windshield, her gaze met his. She couldn't quite tell what that feeling was that crept up in her at seeing him, alive and well.

He opened the side passenger's door and leaned out. "Max," he said, sounding relieved. She smiled briefly, mouthing his name. She was glad he was okay, but she didn't have time for a big "welcome back, glad you're alive" kinda moment. So she simply turned away with a stupid little wave of her hand.

Focussing back on the place she had barely escaped from only minutes ago, she let her eyes roam, searching for a sign of the kids. But there was nothing. Where the entire building had collapsed behind them a vast hole had opened up, swallowing everything. Maybe it had been a Manticore destruction mechanism all along, she thought. It was just as thorough a method as the fire had been.

"Geez," she heard Alec exclaim, "That was a close call. You all right, Max? Joshua?"

Max nodded, then looked back to Logan, who was still sitting in the car. He was still smiling at her, if a little more uncertain. All Max could think of was that she was weirdly glad that he couldn't simply walk over and pull her in for a hug - unlike Alec, who suddenly did just that, startling her a bit.

When he released her they exchanged a glance, letting the seconds stretch, until they heard Logan uncomfortably clear his throat.

The two transgenics let go of each other.

"The kids," Max said, getting straight back to business, "do you think they got out?"

Alec shook his head. For the briefest moment, she saw a deep sadness on his features. Then his mask was back in place, and he was smiling, calling out to Mole, who - out of nowhere - had appeared at their side. "Hey, Scales! Glad you could make it!" he said and something else that Max didn't catch, some joke or other. She could hear, by the tone of his voice, that he was pretending to be his usual laid back, always alright self.

What gave him away, though, was the lingering light touch of his hand on her back, establishing a closeness that they normally didn't like to show.

"You guys alright?" Mole growled out. He didn't even pretend to be unfazed by what had just happened. Suddenly he felt himself being grabbed in a bear hug by Joshua, who was almost lifting him off the ground. "Mole!" he yelled, too close to the lizard's ear. "Thought we would not see you again. Did you see? The building - building is gone!"

"Yeah," Mole looked back over his shoulder, flinching, "Seen that. - What the hell, though? Was that Manticore? - Gee, Princess, I had no idea just _how_ deep you were in trouble this time."

"What, telling you that Manticore is on the rise again didn't give you an idea?"

Mole only glared at him, pointing a finger as if he wanted to add something, then thought better of it.

"Mole," Max said, "did you see anyone else coming out?"

He shook his head, wary. "Nope. How many people were in there anyway? - Any of... _us?"_

"We don't know how many. - Some; enough. But, there were a few young soldiers helping us get out. They were supposed to be right behind us."

"Didn't see anyone, Max," Mole said, startled when he saw tears in her eyes. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he made himself add, "I'm sorry." He almost patted her on the arm and was glad when he saw that Alec was faster. He gave Max a sideways hug, leaving his arm leisurely lying over her shoulder afterward, which Mole found curious. His eyes widened ever so slightly, and he exchanged a glance with Joshua and Logan. Both men shrugged, the latter looking slightly more uncomfortable.

"They saved us," Max whispered, "We should check the perimeter thoroughly, before-"

"We should really leave, though, the sooner the better," Logan interrupted, sounding urgent. "Max, be quick with the check up and then let's get the hell out of here. - One of my contacts told me that Fawn is still out there; we don't know how many of her minions are still with her. Neither do we know who's responsible for _this-"_ He waited a moment, reading in Max's face before he continued, "There could now be two factions out there trying to kill you. We gotta leave. Now. Fawn alone is dangerous. She's twisted."

"Creepy," Mole mumbled, remembering the way others behaved around her, like puppets...

"But maybe she was even in on all of this," he waved, indicating the space where the building had collapsed, "We can't stay much longer."

"You're right," Max conceded. "I have to check first whether anyone else got out, though. I'll be quick."

"My team already checked, Max. Told you: no one else got out. No one else is in the vicinity, except for us." Mole looked around, seeing suprise in Alec's eyes, a bitter sadness in Max's.

"Your team?" Alec asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you think we'd just let them take some of our own and continue to lay low?"

Alec cocked his head to the side, "Uh, _yeah?_ I mean, isn't that what 'going to ground' means? You hide and you stay hidden, no matter with what they try to lure you out again. You of all people should know that, Scales."

Mole glared at him, annoyed. "That why you called me a few days ago, telling me Manticore was back? Eh?"

Alec grinned sheepishly and didn't bother to answer that.

"Thanks, Mole," Max said, stepping in. She forced herself not to think about the kids for now. She needed to function a little while longer. Grief would have to wait. "Logan's right, we should go. - I don't know where to go-"

"Don't worry about that, Max. We got it covered. Left a team back at TC. By now the place should be as good as new, and freshly stocked with everything we'll need if it comes to a siege. - Let's get going." With that, Mole turned away from them and walked over to Logan's old Aztek.

Dazed, Max saw the lizard-like transgenic give a sign for his team to retreat. She wondered who else was here with them.

She remembered those few horrible days vividly when she had seen all of them leave. She had almost been certain that she'd never see any of them again.

It was hard to believe that was not the case.

They were going back to TC.

* * *

When the young soldier and his small team arrived at the scene, it was crawling with people. Sector Police, curious passersby that had been drawn there by the loud groaning of the buidling when it had collapsed. He was not comfortable with being so close to ordinaries, but his orders were to search the place for any signs of life as well as any traces of their opponent, whoever that was.

He signed for his comrades to fan out and gather intel, as inconspicuously as possible. Those had been her orders. Gather intel, then get back and report. No lingering for longer than necessary - and she had strictly ordered him to see to it that none of them would try and find their fellow M-series.

They didn't. Insubordination didn't even occur to them. Yet here he was, wondering about that, wondering whether it should.

The one they had been told to protect, they had studied her. She had been so different, she had broken all possible rules, she hadn't followed anyone's orders, she had made friends among the ordinaries, had established a life in their midst.

She had been free. The concept had boggled his mind; it still did.

Just like that expression on her face that one day in the cafeteria. He had learned that it was called a smile.

He was seeing her smile now, an image his mind created, when suddenly he sensed someone right behind him.

He whirled around, expecting to see one of his team mates, or one of the police officers. He was startled when he found himself facing a tall dark-clad woman instead. For a split second he was sure she was one of them.

Then he saw the bullet, but it was already too late to blur out of its range.

No, he thought then, she's not Manticore.

The white, sharp sound of heat filled his head.

That smile, beautiful, stretching, fading...


	25. of junk and flaws

_Please bear with me through this one...__  
_

* * *

When it was done, she called him.

_"Were you able to retrieve 452's body?"_

She knew he'd ask about her. It wasn't easy to let go of an obsession. "No, Sir, the building had collapsed by the time we got here."

_"Collapsed?"_ He didn't sound very pleased.

"Yes Sir."

_"Seems like the old man really knew what he was doing. Even now he just couldn't let me have her..."_

She didn't say anything to that. She knew it wasn't really meant for her. It was his anger speaking, nothing more.

_"Alright then. Regroup and hunt down the last stragglers - I want them all out of Washington. You have a week. - And get me that tall one, alive."_

"Yes, Sir." With that, she ended the call and stared down at the young soldier she had just killed. Time to go and catch some more freaks. The boss wanted a trophy. If it couldn't be 452, bringing him the tall one had to suffice.

* * *

Max sat crammed in beside Alec and Joshua in the back of Logan's car. He and Mole were talking in the front, their low voices reaching her ears but not quite registering. Her mind was occupied with other things.

The kids...

She remembered Alec's call; she remembered finding him in that phone booth, battered, almost broken. She shot a furtive glance to where he was sitting right next to her now, his shoulder pressed into hers. Nothing gave away that he had been severely injured only a few days ago. Even though she knew first hand how quickly they all healed, it never quite ceased to amaze her.

Max could tell that Alec was caught in a jumble of his own thoughts and musings. Staring out the window, he seemed to notice her gaze nonetheless. Without a word, he took her hand in his.

"I can't believe what they did," she suddenly said, as if the little contact of their hands had been the encouragement she had needed.

"It's what they were trained to do," Alec muttered, as if speaking to himself.

"What about their sense of survival? They taught us-"

"Max. What they taught us and what they taught them - those are two entirely different sets of values." He turned around and stared at her. She couldn't help but think that he looked a little distraught. "I've been going over this in my mind. - Remember what they told us, how they were 'designed after you, to get rid of all of the flaws?'"

She nodded. How could she have forgotten any of it? How could she have forgotten that moment? When the two young soldiers had given up their lives for them. Because they had been told to protect her, and because they had been so sure that she would lead the rest of them to freedom...

She had failed them. In the end they had not even let her try. She felt hopeless anger and pain and grief bubble up inside of her, threatening to surface, when she felt Alec's grip on her hand tighten.

"What are you guys talking about? Those kids you keep mentioning? Were they some new Manticore project?" Logan interrupted, but Mole nudged his side. "I'd leave those two to talk it out by themselves," he suggested, giving Logan a sideways glance. Momentarily speechless, the ordinary merely nodded, understanding. This was not the time. He might not like it, he might be annoyed and possibly even hurt by it, but this was not his business, not right now. He bit his lip and stared out the windshield, trying to seem unperturbed. Mole felt a little sorry for the fella He was indeed growing soft he figured and shook his head, quietly continuing to listen to the X5s' conversation.

Alec continued without acknowledging the ordinary's questions. "At first I thought they meant you. That they were all modeled after you. You know, no junk DNA and stuff." He paused.

"They used the DNA of all of us," Max amended. "Diversity is key."

Alec nodded. "I think what they meant is, they were 'modeled' after you in that Manticore tried to design the other DNA pools like yours. They tried to get rid of the junk parts."

"The flaws..." Max turned in her seat to look at him more fully.

"Noncoding DNA is still not deciphered. Manticore decided it was junk. By some stroke of genius they managed to create one specimen without any junk DNA: you. Yet they were not able to recreate that. - Not sure they managed it with that newer series."

"Guys!" Logan, who had tried to keep quiet, couldn't hold it in anymore. "Listen, sorry to interrupt," he eyed Mole warily, "but you need to hear this: Sandeman was in this building - at least I saw him there once. Joshua did, too."

Joshua nodded. "Father not himself. Father left Joshua to die in the cell."

"What?!" Mac couldn't believe what she had just heard, Sandeman? "Logan, why the hell didn't you tell us?"

"Sorry, Max. I should have - I... Anyways. What you're saying about those kids, it all makes sense now. Sandeman being there, I mean. It seems like they might have been his newest project and that he had just realized that his plan wasn't working out at all. Like Joshua said, he was not himself. I mean, it was obvious that something wasn't quite right. He seemed depressed, hopeless. I don't know. I chalked it up to you being dead. It was what Fawn had made us all believe..."

His gaze met Max's. She bit her lip when she saw the memory of his pain in his stare.

"So you're saying," Alec summarized, "that the kids were his creations. Possibly his way to create Max 2.0."

"Yeah. And he failed."

"He couldn't get rid of the junk DNA."

"Or," Logan suggested, an idea occuring to him, "he did. But he realized that junk DNA might actually not just be that, junk. Maybe he realized that the - the kids were not like Max, despite their lacking junk DNA. Maybe they were lacking something else, too. They were not what he had expected them to be."

"Huh," Alec made, as a thought occured to him. "When they examined me," he provided, not looking at any of them, "someone said something - they didn't know I could hear them, I think."

How Alec used the word "examined" gave Max a sudden pang. It was the way he said it, like it was nothing, like it was normal. Once again, she realized how different life for him had been.

"They said they had always known who I was. They had known about the 'flawed sequence' or rather, the people at the top had known, not Renfro, not that guy Lydecker. It didn't really mean all that much to me; I didn't catch everything they said. Just that you are what I am not, Max. And that once they had gotten the info they wanted out of me I'd help make the next series perfect."

Max and Logan frowned. Even Mole did. But it was Joshua who surprised them all when he said, "But they didn't go through with it. They knew what makes Alec Alec, but they didn't take it away. Alec still Alec, the flaw is what makes him so. The flaw is not a flaw."

So simple.

Joshua patted his young friend on the leg and smiled a grim smile.

"He's right," Logan said, stunned. "Do you guys think what I think? They must have muddeled with the DNA even more than we thought. Maybe they did find that sequence and extricated it somehow..."

Max and Alec exchanged a glance. Alec wasn't really sure what he should be thinking. Had he been that close to losing his own personality, his self as Josh had just made it sound? - And why had they created him that way if they had always considered it a flaw?

"What if that friggin' flaw manifests itself like it did with Ben, though? What if it means I'll go dark side eventually? No escaping your genes..."

It was Max's turn to squeeze his hand a little tighter. Alec was strangely agitated, but she could feel him calm down a little as he felt her reassuring presence.

"We don't know that," Logan stated. "Any person could go crazy or whatever at some point and that's the thing. We don't know how or why it happens. Manticore might have thought they figured it all out, but maybe they didn't. Apparently they used you guys to make the new series better, perfect even, to diminish any possibility of their creations going rogue. They wanted to recreate you, Max, but failed. With you, they always seem to forget that despite your perfect DNA you were still among the escapees. Maybe that's the key to..."

"Logan, if this is all true, what does it mean that they had gotten the order to protect my life with theirs? I mean, someone, at some point, had told them that it would be the most important directive, the one they had to adhere to and fulfill at all costs. Which is what they did..." Max looked at him, hoping against reason that her friend might have an explanation for her.

"Perfect soldiers." Logan looked at her, saw the treacherous shine of her eyes. "Except, they turned out to be too perfect. If that makes sense."

"They died for this. For me. I don't see how..."

"Someone out there, the person who gave them the order, must have known that you are still more valuable to them than any of their new soldiers, that there's still a secret embedded in your DNA that they haven't figured out. - I don't think it was Sandeman," Logan mused. He ran a hand through his hair repeatedly, trying to make sense of his jumbled thoughts. "He seemed defeated, almost. He must have truly thought you were dead - and along with you all his hopes of saving humanity had died, too."

"But..."

"Geez, guys, you're gonna make my head explode," Alec whined, rubbing his brow. "This is some seriously messed up shit. So you say that these kids might have been as junk free as Maxie here," he patted her on the head, earning him a glare. But he was glad that the gesture had made her forget her grief momentarily, "Or at least almost as junk free, and that they might not have had the 'flawed sequence' either - and that _that_ is why they were too perfect? Coz they, what?"

Logan blinked, going over it all in his head. "That's the question. Honestly, I'm not even sure whether it's because of the missing junk DNA or whether it's a certain sequence in the coded DNA. Like, recent studies suggest that junk DNA might actually have more functions than was previously known. It might be responsible for regulation."

"Regulation?" Max and Alec said at the same time.

"Yes. There's protein-coding DNA and then there's regulating DNA. Since we don't know yet how that regulation works, or what it entails, nobody knows what it means for a human being if you take the regulation out of the equation. In your case, Max - and you're the only confirmed case we know of - nothing seems to be amiss. You are perfect, your physical strength, your intelligence, even your looks..." Logan cleared his throat, feeling slightly embarrassed. Max smiled at him, if a little sadly. "Yet with those kids you encountered, there seemed to be something amiss. Like they couldn't or wouldn't function without a higher order guiding them."

"Regulation," Max muttered, "from outside..."

"Perhaps, yeah."

"So what now? Who do you think is responsible for what happened in that building? Who wanted to kill all of us, all of them? Manticore?"

"Whoever did it must have thought you were dead, Max. I'm thinking it might have been Sandeman."

"Are you serious?" Alec asked, frowning.

"Father kill Max?" Suddenly, Joshua looked very alert. "But father made Max, made Joshua, made all of us."

"I know, big fella. But maybe that's why he thought he should kill us all," Max said, gently touching his cheek. What Logan had sugested made sense to her. "We were his responsibility."

"Wait a sec." Alec closed his eyes, remembering the file that had started all this. The file he had found in Rommie's office. "The file didn't say anything about Sandeman. At all. It was like a general outline of how they wanted to take over the entire country, state by state. It mentioned different cells, laid open their plan of using the S1W."

"Really?" Max couldn't help but say, _"Now_ you wanna talk about what was in that stupid file that got us all here?" Alec grinned at her sheepishly and shrugged before continuing, "But it didn't say anything about who was really in charge, and what they wanted. There was just one weird section where it said something about fulfilling the ultimate order. I assumed they meant take over the world, you know..." he smiled apologetically. Could they blame him for thinking that?

"Anyways. There was nothing about Sandeman, nothing even about Fawn. And I know she was behind a lot of it, so... why don't we try and find that bitch and get her to tell us what the hell is going on?"

"Now you're talking." Mole hadn't said anything in a while. He had silently listened to them talking, had tried to make sense of what he heard. But talking didn't get you anywhere in the long run, did it? He was glad that Alec had finally suggested they actually _do_ something.

Then he saw Joshua's slumped form in the rearview mirror, his sad expression. He saw the exhaustion and grief in Max's eyes, the hollow shadows under Alec's, and he added, if a little grudgingly, "First we go home though. We can make plans once we're in TC."

Nobody said anything after that, like they were suddenly too exhausted to continue. No DNA-sequences, no Manticore, no Sandeman for the rest of the ride.

Until they saw the outlines of Seattle, and then of TC.

They were finally home.

* * *

"Sir."

Annoyed, he turned around. He didn't like being interrupted in the middle of things.

"What is it?"

"Sir, you are not going to believe this, but a source tells me that movement has just been spotted in Terminal City, Seattle."

He felt blood rush to his head. "Movement?"

"Sir, it seems like the place is suddenly teeming with trangenics again."

For a moment he was puzzled at how stupid those abominations could be. Returning to that place, making it so easy for him to get rid of a great number of them once and for all. His win, really. Then, another thought formed. Terminal City, that had been _her_ place for them. They had left it.

He was sure they wouldn't return there without her.

Without 452.

"Otto, get the car. Now. We're going on a little trip back to Seattle," he said, put on his coat and followed the other man.

She was still alive after all...


	26. Interlude

_This is a shorter chapter... and yes, it DID take me quite a while to update, didn't it? - __but, get ready for the end, everyone, it'll be here soon... *dun dun dun* For now, though, this: _

* * *

Max saw the silhouette of the contaminated city in front of her. She was very aware of Alec's presence right next to her, of Mole's in the front. Did they even know what coming back here meant for her?

"Wait," she blurted, putting her hand on Mole's shoulder.

"What?" he looked at her through the rearview mirror, puzzled. Grim-faced, Max stared at him. No, she realized, they didn't know what it meant for her.

"I need to go somewhere else, before-"

"Somewhere else, Max? We're in the middle of what could end up as a real war here..."

Max glared at him. She felt Alec's touch on her arm. There was a silent question in that gesture.

"You can let me out here. I'll join you guys in a bit. I just need to go somewhere else first." She hated explaining herself. She couldn't help a sudden sense of dread as well as anger wash over her, but she tried hard to reign it in.

"Max, can't it wait? Wherever you need to go, can't it wait? There's people waiting for us, waiting for _you_ here. - And there _are_ restrooms in TC, you know? In case this is about some lady business..." Alec grinned, his voice was gentle. She could read it in his eyes, though, his bewilderment at her insistence to go elsewhere first.

And that was what made her explode after all. If even _Alec_ didn't get it...

"Oh, great. Now they're all back - now you all decided to come back it's expected of me to do the same? Just like that? - You guys left me there, remember?"

"Max."

"You decided it was better to go to ground. Well, alright. Good for you. Whatever. For me, it meant I couldn't stay either. Neither could I continue living my life like before. We had wanted to make a difference, Alec, remember? We had wanted to live side by side with the ordinaries, we wanted to show them that we can be trusted, that we mean no harm. We wanted to end the siege peacefully. And all of a sudden Mole and you and all the others decided to screw that plan and leave."

"It seemed right at the time," Mole grumbled. "The siege was dragging on-"

"I'm not denying that it wasn't a walk in the park. But neither was Manticore. You didn't even give it a chance to work, to get better. - You know what it was like here after you left? People were even more worried their next door neighbors could secretely be transgenic fighting machines. I couldn't very well go back to work for Normal - even though he offered. It was too dangerous. We had to hide out, me and Joshua."

She exchanged a glance with the big fella and saw him sniff sadly. "More hiding. Joshua used to hiding. No more going out at night alone."

"Right, no more going out alone. We had to stay hidden if we wanted to stay in Seattle. And we did. Call me crazy, but this is my home. I didn't know where to go. I couldn't just leave this behind, like you did. My friends... - Ask Logan what he did for us, what they all did. Checked in on us, brought us food. Made sure to keep us hidden. - And that's why I have to go somewhere else first. Before I can face all these people that left without a real goodbye, I want to see my friends. I want to go check on OC - who let us hide at her place. I want to see Sketchy, and Normal... I want to make sure they're okay, before we take on Fawn and whoever is behind this masterplan of taking over the entire country. - Because they have to be part of it. I won't do this without them."

With that, she fell silent, emotionally exhausted. She looked down at her hands, then out the window, but not before she saw Logan and Alec exchange a glance. Logan nodded quietly, confirming her story. He looked almost defiant.

"I'm sorry, Max." Alec said quietly. "You're right. We didn't consider any of that. - I'm really sorry," he repeated. "Mole, stop the car. I'll go with Max. Don't wait here. Just head over to TC. We'll snatch our own ride."

"You sure, Princess?" Mole asked, then - wary of Max - he added, "About us not waiting for you?"

"Positive."

The car slowed to a halt and their transhuman driver waited for the two X5s to exit. Joshua wanted to get out, too, but Max shook her head. "No, big fella. You should go with Mole. It's safer that way. We'll meet you in a couple of minutes, okay?"

His head drooped a little, but he nodded. "Joshua say hi to Cindy."

"I'll tell her that." Max smiled. Reaching into the car, she briefly caressed the big guy's cheek, then she and Alec were gone.

"Didn't know how intense things have been out here," Mole muttered as he was starting the engine.

"Pretty intense." Logan stared straight ahead, very aware of the glance the lizard man shot at him. He wasn't willing to get into any of it; it was Max's story to tell. It was her pain.

* * *

She was in the middle of an argument with her "landlord," when out of the corner of her eye she saw a shadow enter her apartment. "Well. Whatever you're saying. OC won't have any of it. No functioning radiators, no money for you. Now leave OC alone, a girl's gotta go to work soon."

With that, she closed the door right in the man's face and turned around, her heart pounding. What she saw made her smile, then frown.

"Boo. You look terrible! What's with the new 'do?" she asked, rushing forward to run her hands over Max's stubbly head, then pull her in for a hug. Her girl looked positively disheveled. Shorn and dirty. "I was so worried about you. What happened?"

"That's what you get for helping an old friend in trouble," Max said and smiled. She moved to the side and pointed to where Alec stood, almost shily waiting by the window through which they had come in. "Hi," he said and waved at her.

Frowning, OC walked straight over to him, slapped his head lightly, then hugged him fiercely. "A wave? That's what OC gets after all this time? A _wave_ from the distance?"

Alec smiled his disarming smile at her, and she slapped him again. "Ouch," he made, though she knew it didn't hurt. "You know how I like me a fiery woman, Cindy."

She glared at him. She would do so more than once during the next couple of minutes as she listened to Max's account of what had happened to them. It wouldn't remain the last slap either...

* * *

Max had given her the quick account; she was sure that her boo had left out some vital parts, too. Why else would she give off a vibe of grief and devastation? Alec was safe, Joshua and Logan were safe. The old TC gang was supposedly back. Yes, Manticore was back, more so than ever before. But that wouldn't affect her girl like that. Max knew Manticore too well. She had never stopped being wary of them.

"Is there something else you're not telling me, boo?" Cindy asked. She sat with her arm around Max, and briefly, she felt Max's hold on her tighten, saw her grimace.

"Right now all that counts is that you are safe. You and Sketch, and Normal, you'll have to be extra careful, you hear me? I don't want to risk anything so I'll probably not be back for a while."

OC nodded. She knew that there was more, that something else was bothering her friend, and even though she decided to let it go for now, she'd come back to it later. She'd ask Max about it as soon as this mess was over and dealt with. She wouldn't let her boo off the hook. That girl seriously needed to learn that bottling things up didn't do anyone any good. For now, though, OC would do as Max had asked and keep a low profile, telling the others to do the same, no matter what they might hear about future goings-on in TC.

"I'll see you soon," Max eventually said, though they both knew that "soon" could stretch on to mean a very long time. Starting her way over to the window, where Alec was waiting staring out into the street, Max smiled at her friend one last time before she turned around, hiding the tears OC had seen starting to well up in her friend's eyes. By that time, her own were already running freely, though she tried to smile back.

"OC," Alec said, waving at her again before he jumped out of the window. She rolled her eyes and couldn't help feeling affection for the jerk. He and his attitude, his treating everything lightly, strangely seemed to be just what her boo needed. The boy was good for her.

"Go," she said to Max, who was still lingering on. "I'll see you soon."

With one last look at her, Max crouched down on the windowsill and jumped.


	27. 27

With a thud Max landed - feet first - on the ground beneath OC's window and looked around quickly, scanning her surroundings. Alec was already on his way to the one vehicle she could detect in the vicinity. People these days avoided leaving their rides outside, but she could see why the owner of this particular car hadn't bothered. It was a rusty wreck.

Still, Alec smiled triumphantly as he managed to open the door with ease. He held it open for her. "My lady," he said and bowed, almost making her smile. She inclined her head and inspected the car's interior, wrinkling her nose at the musty smell emanating from it. "Let's see whether this beaut' still rolls," Alec was saying just as Max spotted a curious dark substance that seemed to have seeped into the passenger seat a long time ago. Yeah, she thought, I'm not going to sit there. With that, she blurred into motion, got into the car and hopped straight into the driver's seat, startling her companion.

He frowned a little unhappily when he realized what she had done - and why, but kept any comment to himself when he saw her face light up happily with schadenfreude.

"Okay, you can wipe that smile off of your face now," he pouted as he tried to sit down without touching too much of the stained fabric. Max laughed. Alec had missed that sound.

She was already busy short circuiting the car and they were both relieved to hear the engine stutter to life rather quickly. She turned to face Alec; her smile had tightened. They looked at each other for a few seconds while the car's stutter was slowly replaced by a more healthy sounding hum. Max's knuckles turned white as she was gripping the steering wheel, still staring at Alec. It prompted him to speak.

"About what you said, Max," he started, but she didn't let him finish.

"Nobody forced me to stay, Alec."

"No, I know. But - I shouldn't have left."

"Alec." She sighed.

"Not without you."

She looked at him curiously, frowning. A few seconds passed before she asked, "But you still think leaving was the right decision?"

He kept quiet, but Max didn't need to hear him say it. She could read the answer in his eyes. She didn't know what to say to that, she didn't even know how she felt about it, so she decided to say nothing and just drive.

* * *

The silence between them lasted until the car finally rolled past the perimeter fence surrounding TC, into the heart of the wasteland. Then Alec couldn't stand it any longer..

"Come on, Max. Don't be like that." He nudged her lightly, but she didn't look at him. She focused her gaze on the street, pretending to be preoccupied with driving. "Maxie..." his voice took on a sing song quality.

Max rolled her eyes, but she did look at him finally. "What."

"Don't be mad at me. I don't like it when you're mad at me," he said, giving her his best puppy dog eyes expression.

"I'm not mad at you, Alec." Max shook her head, forcing herself not to smile the smile that was tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"You are, though. And I know I deserve it - as usual. But-"

"I'm _not!"_ Max blurted, interrupting him. Suddenly, the light atmosphere was gone again. She was startled at her own vehemence and a bit embarrassed by it. A lot quieter, she tried again. "I'm not mad at you. I just... I thought you and I, we wanted the same. I thought that you were the _one_ person that could really understand me. For the longest time I thought it was Logan, but you were right. It doesn't work that way. He can't understand; being an ordinary, he doesn't know where I'm really coming from. You, though..." She bit her lip, feeling like she had already said too much. "All I ever wanted was someone I can connect with, really connect. I thought it was you. And then you left, just like that."

She wasn't looking at him, but felt his hand come up to touch her cheek, cup her chin. With gentle force he turned her head toward him. "I'm sorry," he whispered just as she was grabbing his arm. She didn't fight him off though, just closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel the comfort of his touch.

"And I was left to pick up the pieces of my stupid dream. Living peacefully side by side with the ordinaries..." She snorted unhappily, looking back at him.

For the longest time, they just stared at each other, Alec still holding Max's chin, Max holding his arm with both her hands, the car still slowly rolling. Until they noticed movement at the periphery of their vision and broke apart.

"Max!" someone was yelling, before either of them had the chance to say anything, to acknowledge the moment.

Instead, Max parked the vehicle there and then and they both got out rather quickly.

"Max! So good to see you!"

It was Dix. Luke was there, too. So many more of them, a sea of familiar faces. She had not wanted to enjoy this moment, the moment of coming back. But now that she was actually here she couldn't help smiling at them, reciprocating their hugs and embraces, their little touches.

Gem, holding a little toddler, Dalton... Joshua and Mole.

She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be at home.

* * *

By nightfall she was still trying to assess their situation, _her_ situation. The team she had sent out to the base had been wasted, no trace of them. She knew they were dead and hadn't just deserted the scene. She was positive that the mere concept of desertion would have never even occured to them.

Someone had killed them, then taken them away. She remembered the man on the phone. His voice had sounded slightly familiar.

The base had been completely destroyed, its remains buried under tons and tons of debris and dirt. The ordinaries were still busy trying to secure the crater it had left in the ground. But almost immediately they had given up on trying to look for any signs of life. They didn't even suspect how many lives had been lost in that hole...

Fawn scrunched up her face. She lifted her cell phone to her ear and tried yet a different number. She had tried - and failed - to reach any one of the people in her chain of command. None of the ones higher up seemed to be responding. Obviously, the old man was dead. But no one else answered her calls, either. Not just the people in charge of the bigger picture. She couldn't get a hold of "Rommie," of anyone really. It was as if she was all alone all of a sudden.

If she hadn't been who she was, she would have panicked. But she had learned to always stay on top. After 494 had saved her life that one time she had known to perfect her act if she wanted that life to continue.

And she did. She wanted to live, which was quite possibly her greatest weakness.

Suddenly, a voice reached her ear; the last call had connected."_Report_," she was ordered. They already knew things were going south...

"Ma'am. The Portland Base is lost. Sandeman is among the casualties. - I could not establish contact to any of our Oregon cells. - Ma'am," she was reluctant to say it, but she knew she had to. "Someone is after us. Someone's been killing transgenics out here. They called me; they said they were after us. My team is lost; I am alone. Awaiting your orders, Ma'am."

_"Your statement has been confirmed. We've received multiple reports about an outside threat before we lost contact to the other cells. The matter is currently being investigated. - In the meantime you will join the Seattle forces. There have been numerous sightings of rogue transgenics in the last 48 hours. One of our inside sources tells us that 452 is expected back in what they call Terminal City. - Go there immediately. We need 452, alive. In fact, seeing as we're under attack, we need all of them alive. No more killings, no more mistakes."_

"Yes, Ma'am." She was shocked, but she tried to not let it show. 452 was alive. How was that even possible?

_"One more thing,"_ the voice interrupted her now whirling thoughts, _"Don't - under any circumstances - compromise our Seattle source's identity. Even after you retrieve 452, I want them to remain incognito._

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

The woman disconnected the call and scratched her hands. Sandeman was dead. The Portland Base was lost. Only one of their soldiers had reported back; the rest was unaccounted for.

Then there was the threat. The man had called her, too. How he got the number, she didn't know. Maybe it was true, though, maybe the old man had grown even more sentimental toward the end. Maybe that's how the man had known. He hadn't said his name, but he didn't have to. She knew who he was. He was not going by his father's name, but by a different one, for a reason she didn't know. White...

Did he know about 452? He had been obsessed with her, just like his father - maybe even more so.

Her source had just informed her that 452 and her escort had arrived back at Seattle's Terminal City, yet she was almost certain that the news had already reached him, as well.

Only a few hours ago her source had called, out of the blue, to tell her that all of a sudden the old plan of going to ground and stay hidden was no longer valid. Apparently, they all had been contacted and asked to join some sort of resistance - some curious army to fight the threat of a risen Manticore.

The woman scratched at her arm savagely. It was still a mystery to her how the rogues had gotten wind of any of it. It annoyed her.

It couldn't be helped now. Maybe it was for the better. This way, they might have a chance to retrieve all of them. They _needed_ them. Things had changed. The rogues might prove to be the key to survival. They should have seen it all along... Now there was a genocide going on out there; right at that very moment, and it might just be too late for them.

She looked out the window, forcing herself to ignore the itching sensation that was taking over her body. Time to call the other bases, time to rush things. They couldn't afford to lose another state, especially not with their time running out.

Before she could speed dial anyone, though, the air broke out into one loud whir of ringing phones. Her cell phone, her landline, and what sounded like every single phone in the entire building broke out in blaring noises. Not a second went by before she heard urgent knocking on her door. She didn't even have time to tell whoever was knocking to enter. The door simply banged open and a number of frantic looking officers appeared in her line of vision, all babbling as one.

"Ma'am. There's been multiple explosions at our main locations in Montana and Colorado," someone was saying.

A shout: "Iowa is down!"

"I can't get through to any of our teams in Arizona!"

And then: "Someone turn on the TV! Ma'am, it's on TV; they're killing transgenics everywhere!"

* * *

White sat huddled in his long coat, following the news while Otto was driving. He grinned to himself when he saw the coverage of the dominant topic, _his_ topic. _His_ news.

"How much longer, Otto?" he asked without looking up.

"An hour, Sir. Unless the situation out there will start to affect the traffic more..."

He nodded.

He was so close. The conclave would finally - and right in time for the greatest catastrophe mankind had ever faced, be the only force left to be reckoned with. They would be the only ones strong enough to survive.

They, and 452. He would make sure she didn't escape again. He should probably just kill her, too. But he was curious. He still wanted to know why his father had been so - infatuated with her, so obsessed with her. He wanted to know whether she could have really been the key to saving humanity.

Even if the lesser humans would no longer be needing saving.

He was ready for the end of the world. And she would be right by his side, all her transgenic friends - and foes - dead and gone.

The end for them was near - it would only be the beginning of something much greater for him.

* * *

_Happy Easter, everyone!_


	28. 28

_Probably only one more chapter to come (two, tops...) Thanks everyone for reading and the great feedback! If there's anything you feel still needs to be addressed, do mention it, please. though, granted, not everything will be cleared up..._

* * *

They had barely made it to the biggest of the abandoned buildings - the one that used to house command, they had barely quieted down enough for Max and Alec to say a few words, explaining the events that had gone down during the last couple of hours, when Logan called out from the very back of the room, interrupting them, "Sorry guys, but you gotta see this..."

He had wanted to stay out of it mostly because he knew it was their fight to fight and not his and that they wouldn't really want him to be part of it - and also because he himself had started to feel more and more like he didn't belong. So he had detached himself from his friends and had quietly waited sitting in the chair into which Joshua and Mole had helped him, observing the goings-on from afar.

A few minutes ago he had watched Max and Alec walk through a narrow path the other transgenics had left open for them. The anticipation evident in their faces had shown that they were expecting the two to finally shed light on everything. Max and Alec looked and sounded like real leaders up there in the front. Nothing seemed makeshift or reluctant any more. Logan had realized then that both X5s had somehow grown into their roles along the way - they had almost transformed completely by finally accepting their status as leaders. Logan knew that that was why the rest of the trangenics suddenly seemed so eager to follow.

Maybe, he wondered, it hadn't worked out the first time because nobody had been truly willing to appoint themselves the leader. Yes, there had been the people at command, but none of them had wanted - _truly_ wanted - to lead. It had probably seemed too much like forcing themselves on the others. Perhaps it had been too reminiscent of Manticore. He guessed that deep down these people had _needed_ leading all along, had even wanted it. But nobody had dared say so.

But time for puzzling over those things had run out when he had seen the news on his recently revived smart phone - his pet project for the last year.

"This is even bigger than we thought," he said now, looking at Max. His face was flushed as he watched Max and Alec walk over to him, similar frowns on their faces. Even now he couldn't help but feel good about seeing that Max still seemed to trust him to not interrupt her if it wasn't important. She came straight over to him after all, without even knowing what it was he wanted to show her.

Maybe he had been wrong after all, maybe he _was_ still part of all of this. When she finally reached him, followed by the eyes of every transgenic in the room, he handed her the small device, careful not to touch her, and waited to see her face change in horror.

"They're killing transgenics," she muttered, showing the images to Alec, who was standing right behind her. "Yuh," Logan replied, "they're killing them everywhere, systematically."

"They're killing _us..." _Mole's words came out as a dangerous growl. He was already busying himself with his shotgun when Alec laid a hand on his shoulder. There was a wordless exchange between them which ended with Mole nodding quietly and stopping what he had been doing. He seemed to be waiting for something, though.

"I don't know what's going on, but this isn't Fawn's doing," Alec stated eventually, staring over Max's shoulder at the small screen once more.

"I can only think of one other person..." Max began; she turned slightly and stared up into Alec's grim face. He nodded, "Think you're right, Maxie," he muttered. Then, without another word to either Max or Logan, he quickly turned around to face the others and called out,

"Guys. Someone's killing our own out there. Big style. Obviously it's not Manticore; it's not Fawn - but I'm pretty sure we all have an idea who is behind all this... You all remember Ames White."

It was not a question. People looked at each other, then back at him. The conclave.

"We're not safe," Alec continued, "neither here nor elsewhere. This is more than a war against Manticore. This is a war against extinction, against a yet unknown aggressor. It could be the conclave - it probably is. But right now we don't know anything for certain. _They_ do, though. They seem to know more about Manticore's structures than we do - they've already destroyed about a dozen of their hidden bases - bases we didn't even know existed.

Fawn's plan is not the one we need to worry about right now, not any more. Going by the news Portland's - _Oregon's_ - entire Manticore cells have been wiped out. Seems like whatever's happening is spreading from there to the neighboring states. For all we know Fawn might already be dead, too. It's probable. So let's redirect our focus. What we need to worry about now is keeping ourselves safe. We need to find out who is doing this before they kill us all. - If it's White and his cult...

Listen, I know you're all here because you want to help us, because you are willing to fight against Manticore, to fight for our freedom. But things have changed; we need to act quickly, and we can't stay here. White knows this place - I'm pretty sure he already got wind of us having come back here. He's a sneaky bastard that way. We have to give this place up for real this time - I say we destroy the place for good, get rid of any evidence of our stay here.

We - _I_ - left TC - and Max - last time because I thought we had a better chance by ourselves. I was wrong. I learned that the hard way. We need each other. We need every one of you guys if we want to make this stop. I do believe that we only have a chance together but if there's any one among you who'd rather leave before all this goes down, do so now. No hard feelings. If you stay, though, you are in it for the long haul - however long it's going to take, however this is going to end. - No going back this time, no getting out of it if you say you'll stay. - So, who's with me?"

Max was still standing close to Logan though she had stopped following the news reports as soon as Alec had addressed the others. She could see how different he was. This was the Alec she had never truly seen before, glimpses perhaps, at the Jam Pony incident, in those first hours when they had made their stand at TC... But this was different, he looked positively powerful, yet concerned, in control, yet compassionate.

He was a leader - and she knew her place was right beside him.

"Who is with _us?"_ she therefore amended, walking up to his side, glancing at him. He almost smiled at her, almost touched her face, but now was not the time so he simply nodded at her.

The TC transgenics were all quiet for a moment before questions were fired at them.

"I thought that conclave threat was long over and done with..."

_"Who's_ killing transgenics?"

"That guy White even still alive?"

"Isn't he Sandeman's freakin' son?!"

"What about that Fawn chick, you _sure_ it's not a ruse - a way to lure us out into the open and..."

"What's that you were just looking at?" someone else asked. Hearing that, Logan cleared his throat and turned the phone that Max had returned to him around for all to take a look for themselves. "It's on the news..."

Instantly, more and more people gathered around him, and he felt himself being shoved inadvertently; he almost lost his balance and might have fallen to the ground if Alec hadn't placed himself between Logan and the crowd.

"Easy, guys," Alec said at one point, but even he couldn't prevent someone snatching the phone from Logan. They all wanted to see what was going on. The whole thing took on a dynamic of its own until even the last one of them had seen the images, burning buildings, exploding constructions, dead bodies...

* * *

Later, when things had calmed down a bit and it was just them, the old command crew, they sat down to assess their situation and make plans. But it wasn't going very smoothly yet. The thing seemed too big; they didn't even know where to start.

"This is freakin' genocide," Mole gritted out, repeating himself. "Genocide! This guy, White... He'll have to pay for this..." He exchanged a glance with Alec.

"If the conclave is really behind all this," Max started, involuntarily grabbing Alec's arm. "If White is behind all this..."

"You think that this is it? The beginning of the end? White's armageddon scenario?"

She shrugged. For the longest time she hadn't even thought about it. Once the runes had faded from her body and everyone had left TC, her mind had been elsewhere, focused on the here and now. Then Alec had called her, bringing back with him the past - and the usual giant mess...

"Logan," she started, trying to stay focused, "can you check whether anything changed regarding White's end of the world-scenario? Any stray meteors, asteroids, whatever. Anything on a collision path with earth?" Logan nodded. Max directed her next words toward Alec. "We need to come up with a real plan. STAT."

Max felt almost hopeless. So many people had died, whoever was after them all went about it incredibly well prepared. She wasn't sure there was a way to fight them... If this was really White - if that even mattered anymore - he had stronger forces than the transgenics did.

This was worse than the siege that had made everyone leave in the first place. Yet no one had spoken of going to ground this time. They all knew that it was not an option any more. Where to hide when your opponent seemed to know everything about you and yours?

"You think White knows you're still alive?" Alec asked, his voice coming out as a soft whisper.

"Does it matter?" She looked at him, trying to read his eyes.

She didn't have a chance though for right then Gem's face appeared at the door, her eyes wide and red like she had been crying for a long time. "Sorry, Max, I know you guys are busy figuring everything out, but... can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, sounding strangely urgent. She had brought her daughter. The toddler was sitting perched on her mother's arms, playing with strands of her hair, oblivious to their dire situation.

"Yeah, sure. Come on in. What is it?" Max had to clear her throat to get the words out, to sound less defeated. With a questioning look to Alec, she got up from where she had sat down on what used to be her old desk. The other woman looked at her like she wanted to say something but then thought better of it.

"Maybe I'll come back later..."

"No, it's alright. - Listen, I know this is scary," Max tried to sound cajoling. She grabbed the little girl's hand, smiling down at her. She didn't remember her name... "Especially for you. You have her to worry about. But we're gonna fight this. I can't promise that it's all gonna be alright, but we won't just back down. Okay?"

"You don't understand!" Gem suddenly blurted. There was a disturbing note of absolute terror in her voice. Max backed away as if stung.

"What is it, Gem?" she asked, bewildered. She looked to Alec again, a question in her eyes. Slowly getting up himself, he frowned at her and shrugged.

"Oh god, you're never gonna forgive me. What have I done? What have I done?" Gem sobbed. Max started to feel more and more uncomfortable. "I didn't know... I'm so sorry. It's just because - my kid. Max, I can't let anything happen to her, I..."

"Of course not, Gem."

The woman was frantic, hysterical even. Max slightly shook her, mindful of the child the other one was holding. She knew things were harder for Gem. Having a child to take care of... "Listen, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."

"I... I compromised our position." Gem's voice shook.

"You what?" Alec was alarmed.

"They promised they'd keep me and my kid safe. And they did. - After everyone went to ground, I... it was hard. I didn't know what to do. I was not trained to be a mother, it wasn't meant to be like this... Then _they_ found me. They helped us. What they wanted in return was for me to keep taps on the TC escapees. I had to keep them posted; if I heard anything from any of you, I was to tell them. And I did. - As soon as I had gotten the signal to regroup here, at TC, I - oh Max, I told them..."

"Told _who?_ Gem?!"

"All I know is that they were Manticore, but..."

Max closed her eyes, pure dread washing over her. One of their own, Gem had given them away to the enemy. She let go of her, took a step back. Then she opened her eyes again and saw that Alec had grabbed the woman, hard. His fingers dug into Gem's bare arms. His expression was an almost feral snarl. "You should go," he forced out, "Now. You can take your child; but don't come back or I _will_ kill you. You know I mean it."

"Please, Alec. Max. I'm so sorry. Please..." She was looking more at Max than at Alec. She was desperate. Max's face scrunched up. Part of her felt sorry for her, Alec looked positively scary. A bigger part felt betrayed. The hurt of it ran deep.

"Go," Alec hissed.

"Please. I will do anything - anything! Alec, I have a child, you don't know... - Please, didn't you just say they' re not the threat we need to worry about anymore? With White-"

"I know what I said. - You compromised our safety, Gem. You were willing to offer us up to Manticore. You've been reporting back to them all this time?! It's our 'luck' that White is taking care of that threat for us now. - But we can't have a traitor in our midst. Not with what's happening right now, not ever. Do you even know what you did?" Alec sounded eerily calm.

Gem's face looked ashen. Max watched as she and Alec stared at each other silently before Gem swallowed audibly. "Alright," she eventually said. Looking at Max, she indicated her child, a cute little girl who had started quietly crying when the tense atmosphere had finally caught up with her.

"Take care of her. It's not her fault. - I promise I'll go, but don't let her pay for my mistakes. She's just an innocent child. She's our future..." Her voice was monotonous, dead. Max could tell that she had given up, but she couldn't bring herself to comfort her.

For one long moment, nothing happened. Max wondered whether it would all just go away if they waited long enough. She stupidly held on to the hope that it would. Then she watched herself take the small child out of Gem's arms as if she was on autopilot. She didn't even know what she was doing. The kid started crying louder and held her chubby arms out to her mother. But Gem forced herself not to look at her. Instead, she closed her eyes and nodded. "Thank you," she muttered. Then, before Alec or anyone else had a chance to escort her out, her hand blurred to her side and an instant later the air exploded in a loud shot. Her lifeless body dropped to the ground.

Stunned, Max turned away, putting a hand over the child's eyes, shielding her from the view of her dead mother's body. The poor girl had started to cry in earnest, making Max's ears ring even more. She felt deafened into a stupor.

Gem had shot herself; she was dead.

Alec had tried to stop her, but she had been faster, just by half a second maybe. It had been enough time...

There was blood on Alec's face, on his jacket. Max saw him wipe his cheek with the back of his hand. His eyes were shuttered. "Let's take her outside," he said and bent down to lift her up, even as Max lightly touched his arm. There were no words, though, nothing she could think of saying.

Joshua had come to join them and was now gently closing Gem's wide open eyes. "Rest," he muttered, stroking her cheek. Tears were slowly running down his face, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he looked up to Alec and said, "Not Alec's fault. Not anyone's fault. It's all Manticore. Gem a victim too... Don't be mad at her no more..."

Max saw Alec flinch. He was so silent.

When Alec and Josh had left carrying the body between them, Max suddenly turned around again, remembering the others. She held onto the child in her arms, who was exhausted now from all the crying, small hiccup sounds all the noise she would make.

"This ends now," she muttered, looking over to Dix, Luke, Logan, Mole... Then, louder, prouder, "Gem'll be the last one of us to die."

It was a promise she knew she couldn't keep, shouldn't make. Either way, she was going to do everything in her power to try.

Looking at the kid Max wondered whether her world would be any better when she grew up, better than hers had ever been. The little one had just lost her mother. But Max would see to it that she'd never be alone.

Max wanted her world to be a happier place, a safe place. A home.

Not here, then, she thought, and suddenly a plan formed in her mind...


	29. The end is the beginning

_Endings are difficult. Sometimes you read a story that you might like and once you get to the end it leaves you wanting. It's not satisfying; it's not what you had in mind for it, even if you can't quite pinpoint what it is that you did have in mind.__  
_

_I am aware that this might not be what you'd have wanted to be the end of this particular story. I'm not even sure it's what _I_ wanted. Then again, at times I wasn't even sure I could give this story a proper (or not so proper) ending at all. Therefore I choose to call it a success of sorts. Especially since you guys turned this whole thing into a real blast. THANK YOU!  
_

_A note on this last chapter (and the previous): I just realized that Gem's kid - on the show - is in fact a little girl - I tried to change the story accordingly, but I might have overlooked a few references here and there. If you find them, please do let me know.  
_

_Alright, this is it then: the end...  
_

* * *

After Joshua had gone back inside, Alec stayed outside for a little while longer. "I'll be right there," he had told his friend without looking at him. The big fella had lingered on for another moment before reluctantly leaving him alone.

They had laid Gem's body down in one of the abandoned shacks nearby; there was no time for a burial. Alec stared down at her, his jaw painfully clenched. He closed his eyes, pressed his thumbs into them and tried to force that lump in his throat to go away.

He remembered how Joshua had looked at him only a few minutes ago, like he was worried about _him._ The big fella had actually asked, "Alec alright?"

"What? - Yeah. Yeah, big fella, I'm alright," had been his automatic reply while he had been busy trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened.

"No. Joshua can see Alec not alright." Alec hadn't even had a chance to deny it before the big guy had walked over, patted his shoulder and reassured him that it was not his fault.

"I know."

"Uh uh. Not Alec's fault."

This time, Alec had merely stared at him, then at the giant hand still placed on his shoulder. "Not Alec's fault."

"I told her I'd kill her. If I hadn't, maybe..." The words were out before he could stop them. How did the big guy do that? Made him talk when he shouldn't, didn't want to. He had raised his head and stared up at his friend, feeling something traitorously tug at his features. "Might've just done it myself. I'm a soldier, I kill people. I was trained to do it. It's ingrained in me. Still."

"Joshua knows Alec. Alec not a killer. Manticore did bad bad things. Alec not one of them." He had glanced down at Alec, and Alec had felt like he had been looking straight into his soul. Then Josh had patted his shoulder one more time and said, "Alec go back inside with Joshua now? Or Joshua could get Max..."

That latter suggestion had startled Alec enough to make him blink at his friend, but he hadn't said anything, he hadn't even declined the offer, just told the big guy he'd follow in a minute...

Alec took a deep breath, his gaze still glued to the body. Joshua had spread his coat over her, but to Alec, Gem's face was still all too visible. How she had looked at him, like she had seen him for what he truly was. She had been so hopeless, so afraid that she had decided to kill herself, right there, on the spot.

What she had seen had been that bad.

Alec's face scrunched up, he couldn't help it. He was only glad that nobody was there to see him break down. He tried to fight it, forced himself to breathe through it, but somehow it just didn't want to work.

Then he heard footsteps and her voice, calling his name softly.

* * *

"Alec?"

He had his back to her. There was something in his posture, though. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but it scared her.

Joshua had told her to come out here and look after him. She had been a little bewildered by his request, but when he had simply taken the littlest fella out of her arms and nodded at her once more, she had seen the worry in his eyes...

"Alec," she tried again.

"Go back, Max, I'll be right with you." His voice was thick, almost as if he...

She was by his side in seconds. Trying not to look at Gem's body too closely she focused her gaze on him instead. He averted his face, didn't meet her eyes. "Go, please." The words came out so quietly, they sounded so different from the speech he had given earlier. She wasn't sure whether she should just go back, do what he asked of her, or whether she should make him talk. She had never been good with this social interaction kind of thing. What was expected of her? Logan could have told her, but he wasn't there. In fact, Mole had taken him home so that he could help getting their plan under way - a plan she had yet to tell Alec about.

Suddenly she remembered another time when his posture had looked a little like it did now. An unfamiliar aching feeling spread inside her.

"Remember when I told you about Ben?" she asked and didn't wait for a reply. She knew the question seemed strange and out of the blue. "You just knew what to do, like it was the most natural thing in the world. You put your arms around me and just let me cry. You didn't joke about it, you didn't just go over it. You were there for me, Alec. Really there." As if of its own accord her hand slowly moved up until she could touch his face, gently.

"What I never told you, though, is how I failed at doing the same for you. Back when Rachel," he visibly flinched at the mention of the girl's name, which told Max more about the state he was in than anything else could have done, "When she died, I was there. I saw you..."

He did turn to face her then and even in the dusty light of the shack she could see trails run down his cheeks.

Tears.

"And I'm sorry," she continued, her voice breaking, her eyes starting to well up, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you then. I just didn't know how to. - But now I do. You taught me..."

With that, she simply wrapped her arms around him and held him. At first he remained tense, distant, almost long enough to make her regret her move, to make her feel incredibly awkward. But she held on regardless until finally she could feel him relax into the embrace, his hands gripping her almost like those of a person drowning. She felt his breath against her neck, but he didn't make a sound.

She didn't know how long they stood like that before they eventually broke apart.

They looked at each other a little sheepishly. Alec smiled a small half smile as he wiped away first his, then her tears with his thumbs. "Thank you, Maxie," he whispered and kissed her forehead lightly. Then he turned away briefly and pressed his palms to his eyes.

"Just gimme a minute," he muttered, but already she tugged at his arm and he looked at her. "I'll be right here," she simply informed him, "I'm not going anywhere - ready when you are." She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand.

* * *

Of course it had taken much longer than an hour to get to Seattle. By the time their car finally reached the outskirts of the city, Ames White's patience had waned completely.

When they came close enough to Terminal City a few minutes later only to see that the place seemed to be abandoned, he therefore exploded at Otto, shouting at the poor man, cursing his driving abilities and everything else.

"Please tell me that _someone_ was monitoring 452 and her damn parade of freaks and that they didn't just escape. _Again!_"

He saw Otto flinch but then open his mouth anyway. "Actually, Sir," he started, "we do have that - uh - informant..."

"Indeed, we do." Ames nodded, only now remembering. "Idiot still thinks we're Manticore?" He had gotten out of the car and flung his coat onto the seat. It was strangely hot and the thick fabric seemed to make his skin itch. Rubbing at his arms, he turned to Otto, who answered his question in the affirmative.

"Good. Any chance to get a status report from the inside then?"

"Uh, I don't..., I'm not sure, Sir," Otto stuttered. His sunken cheeks had taken on a flushed hue. White rolled his eyes, annoyed. Great, he thought. Things were always going south when it came to 452. "What about that GPS implant? I do hope somebody already got to checking the signal. I want to know where they are. ASAP."

"Of course, Sir, I'll get right on it. - Do you need anything else, Sir?"

White's glare was answer enough and the taller man quickly turned and got on the phone. Ames took in the eerie quiet surrounding him, the once more abandoned ruins of TC, the gray sky above him.

"Where are you, 452?" he wondered aloud, absently scratching the back of his hand.

* * *

Fawn saw two men exit a car just outside of the nuclear wasteland in the heart of the city. She could tell that they instantly noticed it was empty, just like she had about half an hour earlier. The smaller one did not look pleased at all.

It hadn't taken her long to get here, despite everything. Being by yourself had its upsides after all. It was easier to blend in, easier to sneak by unnoticed.

She had tried to report to command, but no one had answered her calls. It seemed that it was only her now. Good, she figured, she had always been better on her own, like the predator whose DNA she shared...

For a few more seconds she watched the two men. Were they the ones who were behind all this? She was certain of it. Yet she was alone and not ready to take them out on her own. Right now she couldn't stop any of it anyway. What she could do, though, was find 452 - and use her as bait to make them stop. Their plan was not completely dead yet. As long as she was still alive, she'd do everything in her power to keep it alive as well.

It was time for her to leave. There were traces she needed to follow, a certain scent, a few things here and there. She had to search TC as quick as possible and then set out to find them. 452 wouldn't fool her a second time. She wouldn't escape again.

Before she could so much as begin to get past the fence, though, the sound of one, then two, then three explosions tore at her sensitive ears. She ducked down, momentarily stunned.

Too bad, she thought and wondered whether this was the man's doing - or the rogues'. She couldn't stay to find out, though; she had her orders. Even if with the destruction of TC valuable traces had been destroyed, she'd get to 452 soon enough. She had to.

* * *

When Max first told the others in command about her idea they looked at her curiously without saying a word. She was ready to discard it, in fact she had already begun to do so with a loud, "Alright, maybe it's a stupid-," when Mole interrupted her.

"Should have listened to you right from the start, Max," he declared matter-of-factly, shaking his head. "Maybe if we had stayed with you back then things would have been different. We could've had most of society on our side, who knows... Couldn't have been worse than the mess we're in right now. I'd love to blame it on the smart-ass, but I figure he's not really responsible. - Don't tell him I said that," he added so sharply and looked so genuinely worried that Max almost burst out laughing.

It was as close to an apology as he'd ever get.

Max simply said, "I won't."

Mole nodded quietly. "So, how should we go about this? - Cale, you're the one with the money and the connections. I'm sure you know someone-"

"Er, yeah. I mean - the money situation isn't like it used to be, but I'm sure I can still... I mean, my name still opens quite a few doors. In fact, if someone could help me get to my house, I could probably start contacting a few people. My uncle had this friend who owned a shipping company somewhere, not quite sure where - Port Angeles, or Los Angeles... I really hope it's the former, it'd make things a lot easier for us... Anyways, what I'm trying to-"

"I'll take you home, Cale. Save the words for those contacts of yours."

Logan reddened at the somewhat harsh interruption. "Right," he said to Mole, "Thanks, man." He felt even worse about the lizard man picking him up like a kid and carrying him outside. But it couldn't be helped, his wheelchair was still at home, and the exo gone. Besides, pride was the least of his worries...

Max smiled at him absently and returned his parting wave halfheartedly. "Thanks, Logan." He was almost out of sight when she added, calling after him, "Oh, and Logan?"

"Yuh?"

"Please, can you tell the others? OC, Sketch... I don't want them to think we just vanished, without..."

"I'll make sure they won't."

* * *

Shortly thereafter, the plan had already been widely communicated. They had sent Dix out to spread the word and get everyone ready to leave in half an hour. They had appointed a meeting point a few miles outside the city limits.

What if Logan couldn't make any arrangements on their behalf though? Max was worried, but by the time she found herself informing Alec about the plan, that worry had already taken a back seat in her mind. If Logan couldn't make those arrangements, they'd just have to find a way. They'd have to use their training like they'd done so many times before and take whatever they needed by force.

The plan was no longer to live peacefully among the ordinaries. The plan was to start over, somewhere else, another continent even. They'd board a ship - or as many as they'd get, and go from there. Asia, Europe...

Max was well aware how after the Pulse reports about life in the other parts of the world had been scarce at best. She had no idea what going there meant, what life was like, worse, better, different, or the same. She knew that some of their fellow soldiers had been sent out on missions there. Few of them had ever come back, or not that anyone seemed to recall. Whether that was due to PsyOps or because they had been lost overseas nobody knew. But did it matter? They definitely couldn't stay here.

That was day one.

In the small hours of day two, when most of her people were already on their way, Max eventually had to say goodbye to Logan and her friends, to Sketchy, to OC... Logan had been reluctant to stay behind, but OC had been too smart for that. She didn't argue with Max, she simply accepted it when Max told her she'd be safer back in Seattle, and Max was incredibly grateful for that.

She wasn't sure she wouldn't have caved in the end had they all begged her to come with.

For the rest of the journey, Max would find her thoughts wandering back to the moment when she had hugged OC for one last time. How they had clung to each other, crying and laughing at the same time; OC's warm, comforting touch... How they had been trying to make light of a situation that was dangerous for all of them - for the ones staying behind as well as the ones moving ahead.

"OC ain't gonna say goodbye to you, boo," her friend had declared eventually, then kissed her, until finally allowing Sketchy to escort her away. On their way to the waiting car, OC had even made a little detour and given Alec a smothering hug, whispering something in his ear that had made him smile and chuckle somewhat sheepishly. Then she had given him one last slap for good measure. "You keep my girl out of trouble or this won't be the last one," she had announced, her finger digging into his chest almost accusingly. "Don't think I won't find out..."

Then there was Logan. Their parting had been painful, awkward, necessary. Now, afterward, she felt like with saying goodbye to him she had eventually laid her dream to rest, being normal, living a normal kind of life.

"I love you, Max. I always will," he had whispered unselfconsciously. It had seemed like he had been waiting for her to say something in return, but all she could say was his name. "Logan..." He had smiled then, a slight blush creeping into his cheeks. "You'll always have a home here, you know? I want you to remember that. No matter what, you'll always have a home here, Max." With that, he had turned around and followed the other two, acutely aware that he wasn't even granted one last hug. Even then, in their last moment together, the virus had been a greater barrier than any distance counted in miles could ever be...

Soon they were already well on their way to the coast. They traveled in small groups, each of which was using a different route to get to where three big freighter ships were being made ready for them thanks to Logan's efforts.

They reached the harbor on the sixth day, Max, Alec, Joshua, and the little one, the second group to arrive after Mole's. The plan was for everyone to get there by day seven, leaving them with a full 24 hours to get everything ready. Those of them who didn't make it by then would have to be left behind.

Max had to force herself not to think about it, and once the day for their departure came she was relieved to see that each and everyone of their TC group was accounted for.

* * *

Days later, and Dalton still couldn't believe she was dead. He had followed the others in an almost trancelike sort of state. Now that they had finally reached their first destination and had boarded the ships, the truth eventually caught up with him. She was dead, she wouldn't be coming back.

They had spent so much time together; she had been there for him all this time, making everything more bearable, and now she was gone and he had to deal with all of this by himself.

And what if they found out about him, too?

He knew why she was dead; they had told him. He had learned all the details, what Alec had said to her, how he had wanted her gone. Only Joshua had not been mad at her, had seemed to understand. He had been the one to tell Dalton about it. Yet Dalton couldn't confide in him, no, not even in Joshua.

He had never reported back to Manticore, unlike Gem, though he doubted that they'd care about that little detail.

He and Gem had been captured that one time, shortly after they had left TC. He remembered them doing stuff he'd rather not remember, and once they'd released him - to his surprise - he hadn't dared say anything to Gem, for fear of... yeah, for fear of what? Of her thinking of him as a traitor?

Coz that's what he was, wasn't it? Knowing that Gem hadn't been any better didn't change anything.

He knew they had implanted some sort of signal in him, close to the brain stem - too close to get it out if he wanted to live through it. And he _did_ want to live.

He had been too afraid to die, so he hadn't told anyone. He still couldn't. Deep down he knew he should stay away from them all to keep them save. Because they were the closest thing to a family he had. But he was too afraid.

So he stayed.

Staring down into the dark water that opened up below him now he could only hope that maybe, just maybe, they could no longer follow the signal. That he and his friends were finally safe.

* * *

Fawn reached the harbor almost at the same time Ames White and his chauffeur got there.

Too late.

As the sun started her descent into the water, they could only follow the dark silhouettes of a couple of freighters with their eyes, feeling immobilized standing on the shore.

452 was gone. Fawn heard White curse, curse his father, curse 452, curse Manticore, curse the conclave. He was standing close to her yet was unaware that she was there. He screamed to the wind that he was supposed to be a survivor, a better human. That it was all about the right genetics.

That it was not supposed to be like this.

He was right about that last part.

It was not supposed to be like this at all. Manticore was supposed to be back to its old strength by now. No, it was supposed to be stronger than ever. Instead, nothing was left but a few scattered soldiers. She hadn't reached anyone in command for over a week. Instead, she had come across White and his ridiculous troop of conclave members more than once during the last couple of days.

She had seen him slowly decline, looking worse from one day to the next, turning from a strong proud man into what he was now: another sick ordinary. It seemed to be his skin, mostly, which had started to come off in flakes, then bigger chunks, just like she had seen it start happening to so many other mere humans. Yet his obsession with 452 had never stopped. If anything, it had grown stronger...

"I - _we_ need her, Otto. Get me a damn boat! Something!" he seethed. "She's the key. It's always been her, and he knew it. That's why the coward killed himself and all his useless creatures. It's always only been _her!_ - I need a goddamn boat! Now!"

There were no boats anywhere in the vicinity. She had checked that herself. Fawn almost felt sorry for the man.

Now, with people growing sick everywhere and Manticore pretty much gone - at least to her knowledge - she didn't quite know what to do. There was no one waiting for her to fulfill her orders. There was no plan of taking over the government. All of that was obsolete.

She had to continue along her given path, though, no matter what. Therefore she stepped out of her hiding spot into the open and dove into the water in one lithe and quick movement so that White never got the chance to attack her. She didn't look back once.

She could swim for hours, days even, if she had to. She would reach them soon enough. She would decide what to do next once she got to them...

She was a shark after all, and she loved the water just as much as she loved to hunt.

* * *

Max couldn't believe they had made it this far. She stood facing the wind, letting it play with her hair, tug at her clothes, and looked out over the gray vastness of the water surrounding her. She closed her eyes and raised her face to the pale sun above her, half shielded by hazy clouds.

On a minute's notice the TC inhabitants and her other - ordinary - friends had gathered and set out to make her plan work. For lack of an alternative they had all agreed to it - and they were still alive.

For now.

Only a few days had passed since it all had started, days in which Alec had re-entered her life, in which he had needed her saving, in which they had learned of Manticore's plan to take over the world. TC had come to life one last time. Then the killing had started, and they all had been busy trying to get out of Seattle unnoticed and unharmed - not an easy feat for such a large group of people, especially when everyone was out to get them and not few of them looked anything but ordinary.

But now they were finally on their way, even though the shore was still all too close and they didn't really know where they were headed. They weren't out of danger, yet, and she couldn't allow herself to let her guard down till they were.

Her shoulders tensed as OC's face appeared before her mind's eye. What would become of her, of everyone else?

"Hey Max." Thankfully, she was jolted out of her dark thoughts and turned around when she heard Alec address her. She smiled. He was balancing littlest fella on his arm like a pro, the kid grabbing his nose with obvious delight. Still, he managed to look almost dignified. "I know, I know, kiddo, my nose is super cute," he said to the little one, then looked to Max for confirmation, "Right, Maxie?"

"The cutest," she said earnestly, then grinned. The expression was replaced by one of sadness all too quickly though and Alec nudged her side lightly once he came to stand right next to her. "Hey," he made.

"Hey."

With his free hand he grabbed hers, and she was grateful for the touch.

She thought of her siblings, the dead ones and the living ones she had had to leave behind. Seeing as they didn't know who to trust they hadn't been able to send out a signal to anyone. She wondered what would become of them. Whether and how they were involved in all of this. A tear made its way from the corner of her eye down her cheek.

With a gurgling sound, the little girl bent over and placed her pudgy hand on Max's face, looking concerned. She had to smile then and gently took the little one's hand in hers. "I'm alright, kiddo," she said. Yet the child seemed to see right through her and pouted. "Well, I _will_ be," Max amended. "We all will be."

She allowed herself to lean into Alec then and feel his warmth as the wind got stronger and stronger the farther they got from the shore. They stood like that for a long time, neither of them saying anything. Even little Evie remained almost silent, contentedly playing with Alec's nose, and ears, and lips, smiling at him, making a few sounds of delight now and then as he smiled at her too.

The sky was turning dark already when Max eventually broke the silence asking, "You think we're ever gonna find ourselves a home? Where nobody comes to wipe us out? A _real_ home? We don't even know where we are going..."

He tightened his hold on her. She was almost certain he'd reply with some joke or other. Instead, he said, "I don't know, Max. But I'm sure we'll make it work somehow... We have to."

"For Eve," Max muttered and ruffled the little girl's hair.

"For _us, _Max, you and I and Evie." There was the briefest of pauses that Max wasn't sure meant anything before he added, "For all of us."

He sounded so certain. Snuggling up even closer to him, his body shielding her from the wind, she almost felt certain herself. There was hope. They were going to make it somehow. She and Alec and Eve, and everyone else.

Max closed her eyes and allowed herself to finally enjoy this moment of quiet peace, to enjoy the warmth of his body against hers and the cool salty air caressing her face.

She could feel Alec's lips at her temple, a light breath, an almost kiss...


End file.
